


Adventures in Time and Space

by CptScarlett



Series: TARDIS Family Adventures [2]
Category: Doctor Who
Genre: F/M, Sequel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-10
Updated: 2019-06-19
Packaged: 2019-06-25 13:04:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 31,066
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15641319
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CptScarlett/pseuds/CptScarlett
Summary: Second Part of the TARDIS Family Adventures Series. Scarlett begins training the Doctor, Donna, and Jacob in telekinesis.





	1. Lessons in Tomatoes

“Donna!!”

The redhead sighed and set her book down in her lap upon hearing her name shouted for a second time,  all the way down the TARDIS hallway and into the library where she sat sipping a cup of tea. Scarlett sat opposite her in the other armchair, doing the same. The two of them were enjoying some peace and quiet, each reading a book, chatting a bit in between pages when something came to mind. It was their respite while the Time Twins tinkered about on the ship. She thought it was bad before the ship had ‘redecorated,’ as the Doctor called it, but now that there were all sorts of new shiny parts to admire, the two of them were even worse than before.

“Oi! I’m coming Spaceman, you don’t have to shout!” Donna yelled back.

Scarlett snickered, setting her book down in her own lap a moment to question the other Time Lady. “How can you tell the two of them apart when they yell like that?”

Donna shrugged. “Well, part of it just comes from all the experience I had with the Doctor before Jacob even existed. Part of it is the pitch, usually the Doctor goes up on the last syllable and Jacob goes down. And, Jacob tends to nudge me mentally along with the shouting. So I get it in stereo, mentally and verbally.”

Scarlett shook her head with a smirk as she casually stated, “You’d think by now he’d have started speaking telepathically with everyone.”

Donna stared at her a moment, the thought having never occurred to her. “You know, now that you mention it—“

“Since we all telepathically linked back on Teni to exchange information, you should be able to link with him with relative ease,” Scarlett explained to Donna and sat up.

Donna’s tongue ran across the front of her teeth a moment as she nodded. “I can do better than that.” She tilted her head to the side, a habit she gained when she first started learning how to communicate telepathically. A moment later she grinned when another shout came down the hall.

“Ow! Earthgirl! I felt that!” the Doctor shouted.

Scarlett laughed, “What did you do?”

Donna grinned. “A little telepathic whammy I picked up by accident when Jacob and I were having a minor argument the other day. He said it was the equivalent of getting a smack on the arm. Guess I better go see what he needs. And have a little talk with him about the need for shouting, or lack thereof.”

Scarlett watched Donna walk out, then thought about their conversation. It had been several months since the Time Lords left Earth behind and went traveling. They had visited a few of the Doctor’s favorite spots and did some shopping at Donna’s request. There were a few mishaps and adventures along the way, like when Donna accidentally got them arrested because she talked to a maidservant who was following behind her mistress. Or when they had been witness to a flying vehicle accident on another planet and just barely managed to save the passengers before both vehicles blew up.

In all that time, she had forgotten about their earlier idea to work to further strengthen their telepathic and telekinesis skills. She hopped up out of her seat and took her book back to her quarters, a plan forming in her mind as she walked, she began communicating with the TARDIS her needs for a training room.

-*-*-

Two hours later, Donna, the Doctor, and Jacob found their way through the TARDIS to a room they had never been in before.

“I don’t even know what this room is.” The Doctor frowned as he looked at the door in front of him. “I don’t think it’s existed before today. Scarlett must have had her create it.”

Before the other two could ask their own questions, the door slid open without a touch by any of them. “I hope you are prepared to get messy.” They heard Scarlett’s voice from the other side of the door and with a shrug from Jacob, they stepped in.

The room was relatively bare. Plain white walls lined the whole room, and a white table sat in the middle. The Doctor _and_ Jacob’s left eyebrows both went up simultaneously when they saw a pile of tomatoes in the middle of the table.

“Scarlett, I don’t want to seem insensitive here, but—have you gone completely bonkers?” Donna questioned in her own sassy, yet genuine way.

Scarlett crossed her arms in front of her as she stood opposite the table from them.  “It’s time for training to begin. I’ve neglected my promise to begin training you all to expand on the natural telepathic and telekinetic abilities that come with being a Time Lord or Teni.”

“Tomatoes?” the Doctor questioned as he picked one of the fruit off the table and looked at it.

“Yes, tomatoes. Feel free to each pick one up and verify they are real. This will be the last time you touch them with your hands.  From here on out we begin practicing your telekinetic skills—with tomatoes. They’re relatively soft, and if they accidentally, say, hit someone—” She smirked and with a barely perceptible swipe of her finger a tomato flew up off the table and landed with a “smack” in the middle of the Doctor’s chest. “—then no harm done.”

The Doctor’s jaw dropped as he looked between his now soiled shirt and suit jacket and Scarlett. “I believe there is harm to my suit!” He hefted the tomato that was already in his hand as if he was considering throwing it.

“Ah, ah! No throwing. No using your hands. When you can pick the tomato up and throw it at me using your mind, I’m fair game. And if it makes you feel better—“ She quickly nodded her head to the side and two tomatoes flew off the table and smacked right onto Donna and Jacob.

“I’m not quite sure this is fair!” Jacob announced with shock.

“Consider it motivation.” She grinned.

Donna looked down, and considered for a moment that in _‘normal’_ circumstances she would have been livid to have had a tomato thrown at her, leaving a red stain across her shirt. But since when was anything bloody normal on the TARDIS. So, instead of getting upset, she just laughed.

“You? You don’t have a problem with this?” Jacob looked at Donna in alarm, pointing to her shirt.

“Oh, come on Timeboy, the TARDIS cleans up the clothing quite nice. The stains will go away.” She then snickered. “Besides, you did start the food fight last week in the kitchen.”

“Alright then,” Scarlett began her instruction. “first step-levitation. Before you can gain skill at moving an object, or in this case, launching it, you need to be able to simply lift it up off the table…”

-*-*-

The Doctor had been the first to pick up on the skill. Which made sense, seeing as he had been a Time Lord longer than any of the rest of them. It was more a brushing up on unused skills than a learning of all new ones.

Donna was the next, which aggravated Jacob to no end, but eventually, he had a tomato hanging in mid air like the rest of them. It had been an hour, and the floor and table were getting rather messy from the pulp and juice of dropped tomatoes.

“Alright, I’d say that’s enough mess for today. You all are making fantastic progress.” Scarlett smiled and clapped her hands together, clasping them in front of her.

“No, wait, wait. It seems to me, if I just—“ The Doctor lifted the last tomato off the table, his hand hanging in mid air, then his face scrunched as he concentrated and flicked his wrist. The tomato whizzed right past Scarlett, who stood with her hands crossed over her chest and left eyebrow raised, and landed with a splat against the wall. He growled and grimaced, “Almost! I almost got you!”

“Almost, yes, but not quite.” Scarlett shook her head and smiled as she moved from the spot she had occupied the entire lesson.

The Doctor got a mischievous look on his face as she passed close to him. He reached out and grabbed her wrist, quickly pulling her towards him and into an embrace, effectively smearing the tomato from his front onto hers. He landed a quick peck on her lips before speaking through his grin, “There now, much better.”

Donna and Jacob burst out laughing behind them. Scarlett shook her head and bit her bottom lip a moment before she leaned over towards the table and grabbed a handful of tomato pulp and rubbed it into his hair. “Oh, look at that, is that a new hair product you’re trying, Doctor?”

-*-*-


	2. A Secret Place

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Doctor goes off in search of Scarlett when she's gone missing on the TARDIS.

Donna knocked at the door a few more times before she heard a voice on the other side, “Coming!” The Doctor opened the door, still running a towel over his freshly washed hair. He was just out of the shower and wearing a dressing gown.

Donna looked the alien up and down. “Oh, sorry Spaceman, you’ve just gotten out of the shower.”

“Yes, well, if you’ve ever wondered, it takes twenty two minutes and fourteen seconds _just_ to wash tomato out of one’s hair,” the Doctor said, a bit snarkily as he threw the towel into a laundry basket in the corner of the room. “What did you need?”

The humored look on Donna’s face changed back to one of concern when the Doctor’s question reminded her of why she was present at his door. “I was just checking to see if you’ve seen Scarlett?  I can’t find her anywhere and she isn’t answering when I reach out to her either.”

“I’m sure she’s just avoiding the three of us for a while after her little training session this afternoon.” The Doctor opened the door wider as a welcome for Donna to step in while he walked back into the bathroom and began putting some sort of product into his hair. “We all have our moments of wandering off around the TARDIS unable to be found. Why are you suddenly concerned about her?”

Donna snickered at him. “I knew it! I knew you had to use hair gel to keep that hair sticking out every which way!” The Doctor stopped and glared at her a moment till she realized she had gone off topic. “Oh, right, sorry. After training we planned on meeting up to chat about—something.” Donna caught herself before she gave away she and Scarlett’s secret plan.

The Doctor didn’t miss her slip and his eyebrow raised as he glanced at her again, before turning his attention back to the mirror for one last hair adjustment. He sighed and turned back to her, stepping back out of the bathroom.

His hands went to his hips. “And why isn’t Jacob helping you look?”

“Because Jacob is busy in the workshop.” She crossed her arms over her chest and the two were in a standoff of wills. “C’mon, Spaceman, I’m worried. It’s not like her to be late. Can’t you just use your link to check on her? It’s obviously a stronger connection than the rest of ours since you two are…whatever it is you two are.”

“Donna, if something was wrong I would have felt it without needing to reach out to her. Either from her or from the TARDIS But—” He paused a moment, head tilting downward as he focused. He looked back up and for a moment Donna saw a flicker of worry cross his face. “She’s closed our link –not totally, but she’s obviously trying to focus on something and doesn’t want to be disturbed. ”

“But could you find her, can you tell when you’re getting closer?” Donna questioned, still not totally understanding how these relational mind connections worked.

“It’s not a game of hot/cold, Donna—but yes, I should be able to find her on the TARDIS. You go on to the library and relax. When I find her, I’ll let you know.”

Donna wrapped her arms around her best friends neck momentarily. “Thanks, Spaceman. I’m sure it’s no big deal, I’m sure I’m worrying over nothing.”

“I’m sure too, but I’ll find her, don’t you worry. Now go, so I can get dressed. I’m not going hunting in my dressing gown, thank you.” The Doctor grinned and waved her out the door, shutting it behind her.

-*-*-

Before long the Doctor stepped out of his quarters dressed in his brown pinstripe suit. He turned left, away from the control room, towards the inner halls of the ship. He wasn’t lying when he told Donna that being able to find someone through telepathy, especially when they were purposefully not broadcasting, wasn’t like a game of hot/cold. But, to a degree, especially with Scarlett, who had very strong telepathic abilities, he could feel when she was closer if he concentrated on their link.

The TARDIS wasn’t being very helpful, other than giving the same indication he already expected—Scarlett was fine. Perhaps it was as much his curiosity as it was Donna’s concern that had him exploring far corners of his ship.

 _Can you please not make it -harder- than it already is, Old Girl? I just need to see her, then I’ll leave her be. Perhaps just let her know I’m looking? I’m sure she’ll say it’s okay for me to find her,_ he found himself pleading with the ship as he realized that the ship might be moving wherever Scarlett was purposefully out of his reach.  He walked in what he was sure a circle and looked up in frustration at the ceiling at just the moment the lights flickered out, then back up, with a light pointed directly at a specific door. _So, she told you to let me find her, eh, Old Girl? I told you she would._

The door was wooden and appeared to be as old as he was, though he was certain it was a new room. Etched into the wood was the symbol of the Teni with vines woven around it. He pushed gently on the door and it opened easily. As he stepped in he was taken by the precise similarity to the garden the TARDIS had been parked in within the Citadel on Teni. In fact, this doorway was situated right where the TARDIS would have sat. Some things were different, he noticed, such as no outer doorways that would have led into the Citadel hallways.  He looked around the general vicinity and saw no sign of Scarlett.

Without need of his telepathic skills, he began walking, with a gut feeling as to where he would find her. He walked through several winding pathways and sure enough, there on top of a large boulder he found her, sitting cross-legged, eyes closed, hands resting gently on her knees. She sat right next to the Gallifreyan Flower.

 _She’s meditating. No wonder she blocked herself,_ he thought to himself as he pulled his shoes off a few feet away from her and froze when he heard her voice in his head.

_It’s the room that blocks telepathic connection. It’s similar to your zero room but—more attractive. It allows me to totally relax and open my mind without concern for broadcasting to, or hearing from, everyone in the vicinity._

_How did you hear me? I wasn’t projecting._ He came over quietly, barefoot, and sat cross-legged on the ground in front of where she sat on the boulder, mirroring her position.

 _You weren’t exactly blocking either, and I could assume the gist based on the confusion I felt coming from you,_ she said back with amusement in her mental voice.

_Donna was concerned about you. She said you were supposed to get together to discuss something?_

Scarlett’s head tilted to the side, though the Doctor didn’t see as he had closed his eyes as well. _I was so deep in meditation I didn’t notice the time. I’ll have to apologize to her._

 _How long have you been in here?_ the Doctor asked her.

It took milliseconds for her to calculate. _One hour, forty-three minutes, twenty-two seconds._

 _You really were deep in meditation._ He paused a moment, considering their surroundings even with his eyes closed. _You miss home, don’t you?_

 _Yes, of course I do._ She noted the Doctor’s silence and felt the worry rolling off him in waves. She released a sigh that was detectable to the Doctor both audibly and mentally. _Don’t assume the worst, Doctor. I’m not leaving you._ _You have a Gallifreyan garden, don’t you? Now I have a Teni garden. It brings a bit of my old home to my new home._

He smiled, but detected a hint of frustration in her voice. _It’s nice to hear you call the TARDIS home._ She was silent, so he picked up the conversation again. _How did you create the room?_

_I didn’t, the TARDIS did for me. She led me here after our training session. I think she knew I needed some peace and quiet to think. I haven’t been meditating the whole time. I was doing some physical training as well._

He heard her shift and opened his eyes to find her moving to stand up. He finally spoke out loud, “Thank you for allowing me to find you. The Old Girl was doing a good job of hiding you.”

She picked up the woven mat she had placed on the boulder and rolled it up, not making eye contact with the Doctor as she responded, “Well, as I said, she knew I needed some time to think.”

It wasn’t till then that he noticed she wasn’t wearing the typical Teni wrapped top and loose pants, but a tighter fit version of both, the top was cut off at the midriff, the bottoms made out of a stretch material—obviously allowing for better movement in the physical training she mentioned earlier. He swallowed hard and looked away, trying to find interesting things to look at around the garden.

She tucked the rolled up mat under her arm and upon noticing his vain attempt at trying not to stare, rolled her eyes at him. “You okay, Spaceman?”

The Doctor looked to her face quickly, eyebrow quirked. “Did you just call me _Spaceman_? _You_ have spent _too_ much time with Donna.”

Scarlett stared at him a moment before she spoke with a straight face. “Yes, well, Donna’s been a good friend, and seems to be the only one around here available to spend time with these days.” She noticed he was still trying not to stare and frowned, unsure if he even heard what she was saying. She stepped closer to him, and noticed his accelerated heart rate as he glanced nervously at her then away. “What is it _Doctor_?”

“You don’t usually—s-show this much—skin,” He gulped and whispered. She was close enough to hear him.

“It’s a daily occurrence Doctor.” Scarlett was getting more and more frustrated. She knew he had no idea what had been stewing in her mind for so long now, which just made her more frustrated because he _hadn’t_ noticed her daily routine, or her recent frustrations. “I’ve been finding places to go to meditate and train every day since I came on board.”

It was becoming clear to the Doctor very quickly that she was annoyed with him. Had he really missed her sneaking away every day? What else had he missed?

He opened his mouth to speak but she continued before he could. “I’ll change as soon as I let Donna know I’m okay and apologize. I’d hate for your brain to short-circuit, at least not yet.”

He grinned, misunderstanding her statement. “You want to short-circuit my brain later? Is that a promise?”

Her face turned serious and he saw a moment of confusion and hurt in her eyes that he wasn’t expecting. “I’ve already made several promises, Doctor. I believe the Earth phrase is: ‘The ball is in your court,’ – how long it resides there before you do something about it—is up to you.” She turned on her heels and walked away towards the door, leaving the Doctor standing, mouth gaping at her as she walked away.

He watched her walk away and seemed to be frozen to the spot he was in momentarily. She _was_ upset with him? He started thinking over their conversation. It wasn’t that he hadn’t thought about their future. He had done lots _of_ thinking about it, in fact he had a hard time not thinking about it. So he had busied himself with work around the TARDIS, occupied their time by taking them on adventures, worked with Jacob on projects… _Oh._ The TARDIS gave him a mental nudge that his train of thought was finally headed the right direction. The ship started sending mental images to him. In them, he was chatting with Donna, working under the console with Jacob, all while Scarlett looked on. Family Dinners. Family movie nights. In his attempt to take things slow, he had unintentionally almost brought them to a full stop. And by internalizing his feelings, he hadn’t shared with her in quite some time how he felt about her. He had done lots of thinking about them, about their future, but he suddenly realized they hadn’t really talked much about it. He ran his hand through his hair. _Blimey, I really am rubbish at this._ Suddenly his feet began working again and he ran after her, but all he saw was her back as the door closed behind her. He followed after her, but she was already gone out of sight by the time he reached the hallway. He knew that if his earlier hunt through the TARDIS was any indication, there would be no way he’d catch up with her if she was upset, the Old Girl would be sure to follow any command Scarlett gave her. He huffed and growled, frustrated with himself, as he ran both hands through his hair.

 _Think. Think. How can I get her alone to talk to her?_ He thought a moment before an idea planted itself. _Aha!_ He headed towards her quarters. She had said she planned on going to see Donna, then heading back to change clothes. If she held to that plan, he’d just catch her there.

-*-*-


	3. Misunderstandings and Complete Clarification

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I had told myself I was going to wait a while for this to happen -- but the Doctor had other plans, and who am I to refuse?

Thirty two minutes, sixteen seconds later, he was leaned against the wall by Scarlett’s door, staring at an imaginary spot on his shoe, getting more nervous as each second went by, when he heard footsteps. He quickly stood up straight and watched her approach.

“Hello.” he said and smiled softly, hoping to ease the brunt of her annoyance.

She sighed and glanced at him before turning her attention to her door. “Doctor.”

He reached out quickly, stopping her hand on the doorknob. “Please, Scarlett—I’ve upset you—can we please talk?”

She stared at his hand over the top of hers for a moment, then looked back towards him. “Yes, come inside.” He released his grip on her hand and she turned the knob, opening the door and walking through. He quietly followed her inside, realizing he had only been in here once since she had come aboard the TARDIS almost four months ago. “I’m taking a shower. You can wait there.” His gaze followed where her hand pointed to a seating area further into the room.

He nodded, deciding not to push too quickly. She was upset, and he needed to make amends, but she had waited for him, now he could wait for her. He watched her go into her walk-in wardrobe then went to sit down. He hadn’t paid attention to the sounds in the room, and it was only then he realized that where his room had a fireplace in the seating area, hers had a water fountain inset in the wall, water gurgling down the side of the stone gently. After a few moments, he heard the door to the en-suite bathroom shut and then the shower started.

He took this time to consider the past year. It seemed that in a blink of an eye he had Scarlett back, Jacob came to life, they all became part of his Time Lord family, then their time on Teni, then on Earth—now they were back on the TARDIS. He closed his eyes, elbows resting on the arms of his chair, fingers steepled in front of his face. He focused on the sound of the water and allowed his mind to go back over the time since Scarlett was back in his life while he waited for her. He snapped out of it when he heard her emerge from the bathroom, standing quickly as she approached.

“Dim the lights, please, Old Girl. You know my preference,” Scarlett said aloud, in no particular direction. The lights dimmed down, and blue light shown around the fountain, lighting the whole seating area in a blue glow.

Scarlett came around to the seating area and let herself drop down into her chair. She was back in her normal wrap tunic and loose linen pants, these in a tan color, but barefoot. She let out a deep breath as she sat. The Doctor followed her lead and sat back down.

“Scarlett, I—”

“Doctor—”

They spoke over each other, and she frowned and sighed. “Doctor, I think perhaps either there has been a great misunderstanding of one sort or the other. I—”

He interrupted, “Yes, definitely a misunderstanding, I just—" She stared at him a moment, mouth still open from what she was saying. He blushed in embarrassment. “Sorry. Sorry, go on.”

“As I was saying. There’s been a misunderstanding of one sort or the other. I came on board the TARDIS to travel. With you. And with Jacob and Donna, yes. But I didn’t leave my planet behind and come on board the TARDIS just to be another one of your companions. I thought we—”

The Doctor couldn’t wait any longer. He interrupted her again. “You think—you think that’s what I want? Just another companion?” His eyes were wide, his mouth hung open after he spoke.

“I don’t _know_ , Doctor. I don’t know what to think.” She stood back up and started to pace in front of the water fountain. “When we were on Teni, even though we had to stay apart for _so_ long, I felt closer to you than I do now. Here we are, on a ship together, albeit a bigger-on-the-inside ship, but still, on the same ship, and I feel further away from you than I have since I met you. You became distant, we barely talk, barely see each other, unless it’s as a group, with Jacob and Donna. I—”

“Stop, please.” The Doctor sighed and hung his head down, closing his eyes and rubbing the bridge of his nose. “I—I get the idea. Obviously, I haven’t been getting things right. I haven’t been saying what I need to in these past few months. Will you—can I have the chance to say it now?” He looked up at her, his eyes pleading with her.

She sat back down in the chair beside his and nodded. “Please do.”

The Time Lord took a deep breath. “It has been one year, three months, twenty days days, thirty four minutes, and twenty two seconds—and counting—since I saw Teni on the monitors at the Shadow Proclamation—Since I realized why I hadn’t heard from you for three years. At that moment, the faintest glimmer of hope grew in me, that maybe, just perhaps, you hadn’t decided we weren’t meant to be.  Then I actually _found_ you.” He smiled wide and looked at her with wide, puppy dog eyes. “And the moment you were on the TARDIS, I thought my hearts might burst. That hope was growing wildly out of control with every glance, every smile, every word. Then—” He sighed as he thought back over the time from Earth to the Crucible. “—for a moment, as I started to regenerate, I thought I had lost you again. I was gutted at the thought of losing you, and I couldn’t even show it because of—” He paused, suddenly not even wanting to say the name. “But I stayed, I found a way because I was determined to stay, for you. I have Jacob and my handy hand to thank for that. And then, once again I thought I had lost you—on the Crucible, I watched as my TARDIS started to burn, with you and Donna on it. I didn’t know if my hearts could take it, losing you _and_ Donna _and_ the TARDIS. I was fairly convinced they were going to stop beating, right there, as I lost everything I hold most dear.”

“Doctor, I—” Scarlett whispered as he paused a moment.

“No, no, let me finish, _please_.” He took another deep breath. “In a blink, suddenly I had a Time Family, made up of a brother, a best friend, and you—” He looked into her eyes as he continued. “—the woman who captured my hearts on the Titanic and hasn’t let go since.” He made a split-second decision and slid down out of his chair, down onto his knees in front of her. He took her hands from her lap and held them in his. “Our time on Teni was so— _precious_ —to me. And here we are, ten months later and if there’s one thing that’s become clear it’s that I am _absolute rubbish_ at relationships. It wasn’t till today, when I saw that look of hurt on your face that I realized—all I’ve done is _thought_ about how much I want to spend the rest of my lives with you—I haven’t _told_ you. I’ve been so happy to have you, and Donna, and Jacob, here on the TARDIS. I let myself get carried away with the adventure and fun of it all. I spent those six months on Teni reading and preparing for a future with you, I wanted to be sure I did things properly. Wanted to take things slow and give you time to adjust to life on the TARDIS. Instead I made you feel like you were unwanted.”

She was leaned forward, listening intently to his words.  He pushed up, taking his weight off his ankles and straightening his body from the knees up so that his face was level with hers. He leaned forward and kissed her gently, then pulled back and stood up, not letting go of her hands, he pulled her into a standing position as well.

“But I want you here, and you are _so much more_ than just another companion. _I_ _hope_ you forgive me because I’m not waiting another moment to be sure you know. Here goes—" He had memorized his following words months before, on Teni, as he read through the texts on the customs and traditions of betrothal and marriage. Every planet, every culture, had different customs for betrothal or engagement, for marriage—on Earth a simple ‘Will you marry me?’ would do. But for the Teni, it was much more formal. He made slight adjustments to fit the Time Lord’s ability to regenerate. “I, the Doctor of Gallifrey, do hereby make my intentions officially known. I wish to spend the rest of my lives with _you_ , Scarlett of Teni. If you will accept my declaration, I pledge to you my hearts, my soul, my body, my love, and my lives. I will protect you and care for you till my dying breath, the day when no regenerations remain.”

He took in a deep breath, his eyes rimmed with tears as he waited for her response. When he felt her squeeze his hands and take a step closer he let the breath out.

When she began to speak it was barely a whisper as tears streaked down her cheeks. “I, Scarlett of Teni, do hereby respond—and accept—your declaration of intent.” She smiled and repeated his modified words, with the knowledge that their years together could go far beyond anything she could have ever expected now that they were both Time Lords. “I wish to spend the rest of my lives with _you_ , Doctor of Gallifrey. I pledge to you my hearts, my soul, my body, my love, and my lives. I will protect and care for you till my dying breath, the day when no regenerations remain.” She then added the final part of her response, as dictated by tradition. “Let us go forward and make our pledge known before our peoples.”

The Doctor was beaming at her as he slipped one hand up to the nape of her neck and stepped closer, resting his forehead against hers. His breathing was rapid, his hearts racing. “I’m not dreaming? You’re going to marry me?”

She chuckled and shook her head at him in amusement. “Yes, my daft, rubbish, Doctor. I believe that’s what all those words meant. I will marry you.”

“Hah!” he shouted in joy as he wrapped his arms around her waist, lifting her up in a hug and spinning her around. The TARDIS thrummed in her own happiness around them.


	4. Double the Fun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Doctor and Scarlett surprise Donna and Jacob with their news, and Jacob decides that now is as good a time as any to make his own move!

The Doctor stormed into the library, finding Donna reclined against Jacob as they both read. “You _knew_ she was upset with me, and you sent me to look for her!”

Donna sat up quickly. “Woah, Spaceman! I only thought that _maybe_ you two should work things out! But when she came back in here, it was obvious she was even _more_ upset. Are you telling me that you two haven’t worked things out since then? Jacob saw you walking into her quarters. Have you screwed things up? Oh, please tell me she’s not leaving!” Donna jumped up off the couch and came over to the Doctor, gripping his arms as she pled with him, “You can’t let her go, Doctor! You two are meant to be together!”

Suddenly the Doctor’s whole demeanor changed, his sullen, angry face turned into a wide faced beaming grin and his arms went from crossed over his chest to playfully placing his hands on his hips. “Quite right!”

Donna’s face turned to confusion. “What!?”

Scarlett walked in then, unable to stand hiding outside any longer. “Oh, Doctor. Are you sure that wasn’t too cruel?”

The Doctor feigned indignation. “She could have been sending me to my death, sending me off to find you like that! She knows how lethal you can be with those fighting moves you were taught by the Teni guard!”

“Oh, c’mon, you know I wouldn’t have killed you.” She crossed her arms over her chest and snickered. “Injure you? Perhaps. But not kill—you would have just regenerated, and I’d have to deal with you all over again.”

He grinned and answered in a sing-song voice, “Ooh, but now you _are_ stuck with me forever. One regeneration after another.”

Donna shouted at the two of them. “Will _someone_ please bloody well tell me what _is going on_!? Are you two _okay_ or not!?”

Scarlett came up to stand beside the Doctor and looped her arm around his. “We’re better than okay, Donna.”

The Doctor’s smile continued to beam as he looked over at Scarlett. “Oh yes—we’re getting married!”

“Married!” Donna almost screamed in a combination of shock and happiness.

“What!?” Jacob jumped up now and joined the rest of the group.

“ _You_ asked her to marry you?!” Donna was still practically shouting, she was so excited.

Jacob added, “And she said yes!?”

The Doctor acted insulted at that, “Of course she said yes! And it’s much more complicated in Teni tradition. I pledged my undying love and a load of other stuff—c’mon, we’ll explain it all over tea and cake!”

“Leave it to you, Doctor, to find a reason for cake!” Donna said with a giggle as she and Jacob followed them out.

“Donna, one does not _need_ a _reason_ to have cake. But if one did need a reason, this would be the perfect one!” the Doctor shot back.

-*-*-

The Time Family sat around the kitchen table, each with slices of banana cake and mugs of tea. The Doctor had just finished quoting his speech, with Scarlett’s permission, for Donna to hear.

Donna gushed, “That’s beautiful! Teni tradition, you said?”

Scarlett nodded. “Yes, we’re rarely ones to do things with few words, apparently.”

The Doctor turned slightly in his chair to face Scarlett. “I have one question for you.”

“You mean one more, other than the big one you already asked?” Scarlett said.

“Yes, yes, other than _that_ one. This morning, when we trained with _tomatoes_. Were you taking out some pent up frustrations on _me_?” the Doctor asked.

Donna answered before Scarlett could. “I’d say that tomato in the hair is a pretty fair response to three and a half months of practically _ignoring_ the woman you love.” Donna glanced at Jacob, whose brows were scrunched together as he frowned at his piece of cake. “What’s wrong, love?”

Jacob looked up and tried to relax his face. “What? Oh, nothing, nothing.”

Donna pushed further, placing a hand on his arm. “No, something’s wrong, what is it?”

“Well, it’s just that—” One hand had slipped into his jacket pocket and fiddled with something. “I mean, it’s not nearly as romantic or long-winded as all _that_ —” he said as he nodded towards the Doctor and Scarlett. “—but, _well_ , you wouldn’t want to make it a _double_ -wedding, would you?”

“What!?” Donna gasped out in shock.

He slipped his hand out of his pocket and held it out, with a ring pinched between his fingers. Donna and Scarlett both gasped this time, Donna’s hand going over her mouth, and Scarlett’s hand going to the Doctor’s to squeeze it. Jacob swallowed hard and continued, “I’ve had this for a while now, I was waiting for the right moment. This isn’t exactly the romantic setting I had hoped for, but, well, it just feels like the right time. Here, together.” He glanced at the Doctor and Scarlett, then back to Donna. “Donna Noble, will you marry me?” He paused only a moment. “I—I can say more, if you like—but I’m fairly certain you know how I feel. I’m not quite as rubbish as my brother at voicing my feelings.”

“Oi! Really? Is now the time?” said the Doctor as his face quirked in a funny expression.

“Donna? Love? Are you okay?” Jacob looked at the redhead with concern, her hand was still over her mouth and he could see tears welling in her eyes. “Can you say _something_ , please? You’re never this quiet, I’m a bit worried now.”

Donna finally removed her hand from her mouth, which was hanging wide open. Finally, she declared, “ _I. Bloody. Love. You. Timeboy._ Of course, I’ll marry you!” She leapt forward half out of her chair and wrapped her arms around his neck.

Jacob grinned, much like his brother had, and squeezed his new fiancée tight. When they finally let go a few moments later, Jacob slipped the perfectly fitting engagement ring onto Donna’s finger.

-*-*-

Later as the four of them stood around the console, Jacob asked, “Where do we go first? Earth or Teni?”

Scarlett looked at her friend with concern. “Donna, are you sure you’re okay with your wedding being on Teni and not your own home planet?”

Donna smiled at Scarlett and placed her hand on her arm. “I’m certain. I had one failed wedding on Earth, and very few people I care to have attend this one. As long as the three of you are okay with my Mum and Gramps taking a trip on the TARDIS to come to Teni, I’m okay with it.”

“And we’ll have the rest of the ‘extended family,’ right Doctor?”

“Jack, Martha, Mickey, Sarah Jane—yes, I think it would be brilliant!”

“Well then, I think we should go to Earth first, share the news there and make arrangements for a time frame that would work best for picking up of all the guests from there. Then we’ll go to Teni and make all the formal arrangements for the ceremony. I’ll have to have some discussion with Balen. I don’t want this turning into some huge political affair—but I’m afraid there will be some fanfare, and cameras I’m sure. They’ll want to broadcast it all over the planet.”

“As long as my Mum gets a copy of the tape, she’ll be thrilled.” Donna grinned.

“To Earth it is—everyone strap in.” the Doctor announced, and the four Time Lords went to their pilot chairs, tapping the buttons that engaged their harnesses and brought them forward to the console.

Donna entered the coordinates, Scarlett primed the system, Jacob took off the parking brake, and the Doctor engaged the drive that sent them into the Vortex and to their destination—Chiswick.


	5. Announcements and Invitations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Time Lord Family spreads the news to their friends and family on Earth!

While waiting for the ladies to get ready for their visit to Earth, the brothers made themselves busy in the control room. Jacob watched as the Doctor paced back and forth by the console. “What is it?”

“Just a bit anxious about going back to Teni and beginning the wedding plans,” the Doctor nervously said as he continued to pace.

Jacob stopped him in mid-stride by grabbing his arm. “Would you like to swap and face Sylvia Noble instead?”

The Doctor froze and shuddered. “Point taken. Are you sure you don’t want Scarlett and I there when you and Donna talk to Sylvia and Wilf?

Jacob shook his head. “Donna thinks it’s better this way—I’m following her lead.” The ‘younger’ of the two Time Lords sighed. “I am a bit jealous. You two get the fun job, spreading the word amongst all our friends—”

“Not thinking of abandoning me, are you Timeboy?” Donna teased as she walked into the control room.

“Not a chance, Earthgirl.” Jacob smiled as she came up and wrapped her arms around his neck, giving him a quick kiss. “Just a bit nervous, that’s all.”

-*-*-

Scarlett and the Doctor watched Jacob and Donna walk towards the front door of the Mott/Noble residence and waved when the couple turned to wave them off before knocking. After they saw Wilf open the house door and greet them both with hugs, they went back into the TARDIS, closing the door behind them.

Scarlett had begun to walk back up the ramp when the Doctor pulled at her hand, bringing her in front of him. He moved in close and smiled at her as he whispered, “This is the first time we’ve been alone on the TARDIS since I found you again.”

“Yes, yes it is.”

“Totally. Alone. We could go anywhere in space and time. Alone. Or, we could go anywhere on the ship. Alone. Just me and you. After all these months—here’s my chance to make it up to you. What do you want to do? We have all the time we want, we can come back later to this time and go do our visiting, pick Jacob and Donna back up. No one even has to know unless you want them to.”

Scarlett smiled, and ran her hand along his tie. “Are you sweet talking me, Time Lord?”

He grinned back. “Is it working?”

“It might. Just. Be.” She leaned in closer with each word, and finally kissed him gently on the lips He kissed back, pulling her closer to him and deepening it.

-*-*-

Twenty one minutes and forty-eight seconds later and the Doctor had experienced what he would consider an incredible test of his respiratory bypass system, and Scarlett’s as well. She now followed him around the console to the monitor station where he dialed up Jack’s Vortex Manipulator, which he had modified into a direct line of communication with the TARDIS before they had last left Earth.

“Doctor, is that you? Is something wrong?” they heard over the intercom system.

“Jack! Yes it’s me! Nothing wrong at all, just checking to see if you’re at the Hub today. Wanted to stop by for a visit.”

“Yes, I’m here,” Jack said slowly. “Are you sure nothing’s wrong?” he questioned suspiciously.

“Of course I’m sure. We’ll be there in a tick.”

-*-*-

“A double wedding! Of course, I’ll be there! I wouldn’t miss it for the world!” Jack put his arms around the shoulders of the Doctor and Scarlett as he walked between them through the Plass. “This is fantastic! When will I get to congratulate Donna and Jacob?”

“Well, they’re off sharing the news with Sylvia and Wilf now.”

-*-*-

“What do you mean, you’re not getting married on _Earth_!?” Sylvia Noble exclaimed rather loudly as she froze with hands in the washing up water.

“Mum, we want to have a double wedding with the Doctor and Scarlett, and that means getting married on Teni. There’s only a very small group of people that we care about coming from Earth, so it’s easy enough to take you all there in the TARDIS,” Donna tried to explain as calmly as possible. “It’ll be you and Gramps, Jack, Martha and Mickey, Sarah Jane and Luke—at least we hope they can all make it. The Doctor and Scarlett have gone to let them all know now.”

“It just all seems so fast.” Sylvia shook her head and leaned her hands against the edge of the sink.

“Sylvia, I know it’s all difficult to comprehend,” Jacob used his most soothing tone as he stood up and walked over to stand with Donna’s mother. He stood and rested his hand on her shoulder in a comforting gesture. “But remember, before I met you, I had spent six months on Teni working with Donna, and we spent six months here on Earth, and we’ve been traveling on the TARDIS for almost another four months. I know it’s been barely eight months here, since the planets moved, but for us, it’s been almost a year and a half.”

Sylvia nodded and smiled as she examined the man. It was much easier to tell the difference between he and the Doctor now, which made things easier on Sylvia. Even though she had made amends with the Doctor and was treating him more nicely, it was still nice to be able to tell that this man was a different person. He had started letting his hair lay flat instead of being up and spiky like his brother, and occasionally even let scruff show on his chin.

Jacob smiled as he could tell from her heart rate and demeanor that Sylvia was calming down. “Just think of it as a destination wedding, Sylvia. And you’ll have nothing to pay for, it will all be taken care of. It’s the least my brother and I can do after all the trouble that happened with Lance. Donna can take you out shopping for anything you want to bring with you.”

He was surprised to hear her Sylvia scoff, “Oh, I’ve heard all about what really happened there. There was nothing Donna _or_ the Doctor could have done. That man turned evil. The Doctor saved my Donna’s life.”

“Did you just defend the Doctor, Mum?” Donna asked in surprise.

Jacob grinned. “Maybe we should have had them come along after all, he’ll never believe it.”

“Oh hush now, the both of you.” She said as she threw her dishcloth at Jacob. “You know the Doctor and I made our amends while you were all traipsing around Earth fixing up things. Now get over here, young man, and do the drying up.”

Jacob looked over his shoulder at Donna and grinned. “Yes, right away!”

“So, a destination wedding, you say. Will it be on a beach like the ones we see on the telly sometimes?” Wilf asked.

“Not really sure yet, Gramps.” Donna answered. “Could be. There are certainly beaches there. Mostly water, the planet is ninety percent water. Remember I told you about having lunch in that underwater city? It’s remarkable, Gramps. I’m sure we’ll get you a tour while we’re there. After all…” She grinned and patted her grandfather’s hand. “You’re going to be family with a former queen. She’s going to be my sister-in-law! Practically royalty!”

-*-*-

“Oh, that’s brilliant! Thanks for letting us know—Scarlett will be pleased to know. We’re just with Martha and Mickey now. Nope, haven’t told them yet. Okay, yes, I’m going to. Yes, as soon as you let me off the phone, Donna. Okay-bye.” The Doctor sighed and smiled as he hung up the phone.

“Haven’t told us what?” Martha looked back and forth between the two.

The Doctor turned first to Scarlett to relay the message, “Donna says things went splendidly with her mother.” Then he turned to Martha. “Well, you see—” The Doctor grinned, no longer able to hold out. “We’re getting married! Scarlett and I! Oh, and Donna and Jacob!”

Mickey looked confused. “Woah, wait, is this an alien thing? A foursome?”

“What!?” the Doctor sputtered, and Scarlett burst out laughing. “What?! No! I mean, Scarlett and I are getting married, and so are Donna and Jacob. Separately. But—together—same ceremony, different marriages.”

“Oooh, I see. Well congrats, Boss!” Mickey playfully punched the Doctor on the shoulder.

“Wait, where’s the ring?” Martha exclaimed as she took Scarlett’s hand and pulled it up within view.

Scarlett smiled. “Engagement rings aren’t common practice on Teni or Gallifrey, Martha. Whereas human connection is on a physical, and somewhat emotional, level and a physical symbol of the bond is necessary for identification—for both the Teni and Gallifreyans, the connection is incredibly mental in nature first, then physical. Jacob got Donna a ring because she was human first, and all your customs are what she is familiar with. A Teni or Gallifreyan who has trained telepathic senses can tell a couple has a  bond—whether it’s burgeoning or fully established—simply by looking at them. In fact, if I didn’t know better, I’d say you and Mickey are—”

“Yes, well—nothing official yet, but we have discussed it.” Martha and Mickey both blushed and smiled, and Martha continued, “So, that’s why you’ve come, to tell us about the engagement?”

“And invite you to the wedding, of course! On Teni! It means another trip on the TARDIS—I do hope you’ll come,” the Doctor said, with a hopeful smile, towards Martha.

-*-*-

That evening Donna greeted the Doctor and Scarlett at the back door. Since they had planned to stay overnight, the Doctor parked the TARDIS in the back garden of the Mott/Noble home so that it would be more easily accessible when it was time to retire for the evening. There would be no concern over sleeping arrangements with the TARDIS close by this time.

“Sylvia, I am so sorry we couldn’t make it for dinner. Sarah Jane insisted we stay for dinner at her home after she heard the news,” Scarlett said as she hugged and gave the woman a kiss on the cheek.

“Oh, don’t worry about it dear, there’ll be other dinners.” Sylvia smiled then turned to the Doctor who was hanging back a bit shyly. “Oh, come here, Doctor. Congratulations are in order for both of you.” She pulled the Time Lord into a hug, though he was too shocked to return the affection. He was still having a hard time getting used to the kindness that Sylvia more willingly showed these days.

“Um, well, thank you Sylvia. Where’s Jacob and Wilf?” he asked, eyes darting around looking for the other men.

“Up the hill, of course.” Sylvia sighed. “Looking at the stars, I’m sure. Go on—us girls will talk about wedding details. I’m interested in hearing from Scarlett about her wedding customs.”

The Doctor grinned and gave Scarlett a quick peck on the cheek before happily heading back out the door to meet up with Wilf and his brother.


	6. The Doctor's Birthday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Donna wonders about the Doctor's birthday, and when not given a satisfactory, decides to make it happen.

They were a week away from the date planned for the Teni wedding. Scarlett and Donna had spent hours in conference on Teni with Balen and a few advisors that had been appointed to assist in planning the ceremony.  All the details had been set, everything necessary had been ordered, and they had purposely given themselves a week to rest between the planning and the actual event, for rest and relaxation.

And also, unbeknownst to the Doctor, so that a plan long in the making by Scarlett, Donna, and Jacob, could come to fruition. It had all started with an innocent enough question from Donna to Jacob one day, almost a year earlier, as they sat alone eating lunch at the kitchen table when still on Teni.

-*-*-

“When is the Doctor’s birthday?” she asked nonchalantly.

“What!?” Jacob exclaimed, almost choking on the food he had been swallowing.

“It’s a simple question, Timeboy. When is his birthday?” She rolled her eyes as she repeated herself. “I can’t seem to access that piece of information from his memories. I thought maybe he locked it away for good. But you should know it, he let you keep everything.”

He tilted his head as he thought a moment. “You know, I can’t remember.”

“You can’t remember, you mean he locked it away from you, too?” she questioned.

“No, no. I mean, I can’t remember, and I don’t think _he_ can remember either.  He is very old, Donna. You might forget a few things after nine hundred or so years as well.” he explained it away, expecting the conversation to be over.

“Well, that’s just not right. Everyone should have a birthday. Do you think the TARDIS might know, maybe it’s in her databanks somewhere?”

A short time later they stood at the console together, looking at the computer screen at her station.  She typed at the keyboard again and huffed.  “Unknown?  What the bloody hell does that mean?  The TARDIS has everyone’s birthdates in here, even yours is listed as the day of the metacrisis. I’m going to try and not have a complex over the fact that I’m dating an infant, mind you.” she said the last bit as an aside. “How could the TARDIS—his own ship—not have his date of birth??”

“He says it was wiped from existence somehow, when he ended the Time War.” Scarlett had walked in on the tail end of their conversation and spoken up after Donna’s last frustrated question. “Sorry, I was doing some research in the TARDIS library.  Anyway, If you look up the name of any other Time Lord, other than us, of course, you’ll see that all their dates of birth are ‘unknown.’”

Donna typed in a few more names and looked up at Jacob, who spoke quietly as he bent down to look at the screen with her, “Well isn’t that just wizard.”

“Everyone deserves a birthday, and a proper celebration at that. I don’t care if you’re 4 months, 40, 200, 904, or 2,0004 – you deserve a birthday.”

“Well then, what do you suggest?” Jacob crossed his arms and looked at her quizzically.

Donna leaned back in her chair, nibbling at the corner of her lip as she considered. After a short moment, she spoke again. “Let’s make one up for him.”

“What?” Jacob questioned again.

“A birthdate. Let’s make one up for him. And we’ll throw him a surprise party. But just us, the four of us. That way if it goes pear-shaped and he isn’t as happy about it as I hope he’ll be, it won’t be embarrassing.” Donna was brimming with excitement at her idea.

Jacob shook his head, worried. “I don’t know, Donna. In all his memories, I can’t think of a single birthday celebration he’s attended, so I don’t have any comparison as to if he’ll like this or not.”

“Exactly. He has no frame of reference. He hasn’t worried about it because he doesn’t know what he’s missing. C’mon, what harm can it do? We can keep it simple—I’ll make his favorite banana cake. And we _must_ have presents.”

“Alright, Donna. You’ve convinced me, I say let’s go for it.” Scarlett smiled at the red-head. The Doctor was lucky to have friends who cared as deeply as Donna. She just secretly hoped the Doctor reacted well to this idea of hers.

Jacob suddenly stood up straight, a wide grin crossing his face. Donna looked at him warily. “Um, what is it, Timeboy?”

“I know _exactly_ what I’m giving him. But it will take me quite a while to do, so can we hold off on setting the date till I can determine how long it’s going to take me to finish it?”

-*-*-

They hadn’t meant for it to take so long to continue with their plan, but with the recovery efforts on Teni and Earth, Jacob hadn’t had a lot of time to work on his secret project. He had finally almost finished and so they had set the date just before all the engagement excitement had begun.

Now, here they were, a week before the wedding, and it was the day they had chosen.

Jacob was keeping the Doctor busy in the Gallifrey Gardens while Scarlett finished preparing things in the library and Donna made the cake in the kitchen. When Scarlett and Donna were ready, they confirmed to the TARDIS that it was time. The TARDIS thrummed in excitement and began her part of the plan.

Jacob and the Doctor knelt, looking at a patch of wilted flowers, a frown on the Doctor’s face. Jacob glanced between the Doctor and the flowers, an eyebrow raising as he received mental confirmation from Donna that things were moving into the next stage.

“Well, brother, I thought perhaps you might know why this particular patch can’t seem to thrive. But if you’ve no ideas either, perhaps we can do a few experiments on the wilted plants and see what’s going on.” Jacob stood and the Doctor followed.

“Yes, I can’t think of a reason why.” He took a deep breath in and suddenly stood stock still, taking another sniff. “Jacob,” he slowly asked. “Do you smell what I smell?”

Jacob looked bewildered at his brother, falling into his part in the charade. “I don’t know, what do you smell?”

“I smell one of Donna’s banana cakes.” The Doctor started sniffing and walking towards the door.

Jacob took a few sniffs. “Yes, I might smell something like that. Not sure though, it might just be some of the flowers.”

“Oh no, I’d recognize that smell anywhere.” The Doctor continued to sniff as he walked out the door and down the hall. It took everything within Jacob not to giggle as he watched the Doctor acting like a dog seeking after a treat. The Doctor frowned as he ended up at the library door.  “The library? I wonder why she’s got it in the library?”

He tapped at the door and it slid open, revealing darkness. He frowned. The TARDIS always turned on the lights in any room when someone approached so that they were already on upon entrance. Why wasn’t it working? “Jacob, I’m concerned something’s going on with the Old Girl. First those flowers, now the ligh—”

Suddenly the lights came on and Scarlett, Donna, and Jacob all yelled, “Surprise!”

The Doctor’s mouth was still open, mid-word. Donna approached him and popped a cone-shaped hat onto his head, letting the elastic band pop against his chin. “Happy Birthday, Spaceman!”

“B—but,  Donna—Donna, I don’t have a birthday,” the Doctor said quietly, almost as if ashamed.

“Of course you do, Spaceman.” Donna put her arm around him, guiding him to the table that had a giant, fresh, banana cake sitting in the middle with one candle lit in the middle. “Just because you can’t remember the date you were born, or loomed, as the case may be—doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. Birthdays are for celebrating the life of the person, and today we’ve chosen to celebrate your life. Now, if you decide that you don’t like this date as your birthday, you’re welcome to change it. But as long as I reside on this ship, we _will_ celebrate your birthday in _some_ form or fashion, Spaceman.”

“Donna—it’s a bit difficult to determine dates when you’re on a time-traveling spaceship, spending most of your time in the vortex, jumping back and forth across all of time.” The Doctor was staring in astonishment, and a bit of desire, at the banana cake on the table, but he still argued with his best friend.

“Yes, yes, I get all that. But we’ll figure it out in TARDIS time and go with that. Please?  Tell me you’re not upset?” Donna eyed him cautiously, but hopefully.

He turned to his best friend and allowed a small smile to escape first. “Upset? Donna, no. I’m not upset. Just—surprised. You’re the first companion I’ve ever had that even thought to _care_ when my birthday was. Donna Noble, you’re brilliant.” He turned to the cake again, then looked to his future-wife, then to his brother, back to Donna, then his smile grew wider as it landed on the cake again. “It’s brilliant!”

A few minutes later all were four seated at the table as Donna cut the cake and served it to each of them. They had already sung “Happy Birthday,” though Donna had to carry the tune, as Jacob and Scarlett were unfamiliar, though she had tried to get them to practice beforehand.  The Doctor had blown out his candle, vowing not to tell his wish, as was customary for Earth birthdays.

The Doctor was on his third piece of cake when Donna clapped her hands together. “Alright, time for presents! Before the birthday boy makes himself sick on banana cake!”

The Time Lord stopped in mid bite, perking up, another grin coming across his face. “There’s presents, too?”

Donna grinned and shook her head. “See, I knew you’d like this. You’re such a kid at heart, you can’t say no to cake and presents!”

Scarlett presented him with a framed digital, video-picture that had been taken on Teni during the restoration. In the picture were five of them, Scarlett, Donna, Jacob, the Doctor, and Jack. They were laughing and smiling at the camera, as they stood, arms around each other’s shoulders.  “Oh, it’s perfect! I love it!”

Donna’s gift had him tearing up. He had gasped as he ripped the paper off the frame and saw the picture. It was a brilliantly done pencil sketch of he and Jenny, signed by the artist—Donna Noble.

“I’m still learning technique,” Donna tried to cover for what she felt was poor work. “But I’ve been working on this one for a while—I actually started not long after Messaline. It’s just—”

“It’s amazing,” he whispered as his hand traced over the face of his too-quickly-gone daughter. He then looked up in amazement at his friend. “I had _no_ idea you were an artist, Donna.”

She shrugged. “Pfhh, I don’t know about artist. But I dabble.”

“Donna, it’s brilliant. Your dabbling has more skill than I could obtain in 900 years,” the Doctor argued.

Jacob concurred, “It’s true, love. It’s remarkable. Now, is it my turn yet? I’ve been hiding this for far too long and I’m bursting to finally give it to you.”

“Okay, brother—what have you got up your sleeve?” the Doctor warily asked.

“Well, you’re always wondering why I’m sneaking off to the workshop and keeping you away from my boxes in the corner—” He had gotten up and was speaking as he walked to the corner of the room where a box sat.  He waited to see that the other three were anxiously awaiting his reveal before pulling the box up to reveal a shiny metal object.

“Master!”

The Doctor jumped up out of his seat, a huge smile crossing his face. “K-9!!!”


	7. Unbreakable Bonds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Donna worries that the Doctor wants to be rid of her and Jacob now that the couples have both gotten married.

Scarlett yawned and rolled over in bed, finding the spot next to her empty, as was typical for the morning. She sat for a few moments, considering marital life. After a few minutes, she allowed herself to focus on the time, and could almost precisely countdown the seconds till the door opened.

Sure enough, 12 seconds later, the door slid open and in bounced her husband. “Hello, lovely wife! I’ve brought you tea to get your morning started!” Scarlett just grinned and shook her head. The Doctor frowned a moment. “What is it? Is something wrong? This is your favorite tea—” He glanced between the tea mug and her, his eyebrows furrowed.

“Nothing is wrong, Doctor. I _love_ you. Three weeks into marriage and you bring me tea _every_ single morning at precisely the same time – _exactly_ five minutes after I wake. How do you manage that?”

The Doctor smiled again and continued the journey across the room to their bed. “Oh, that! It’s easy—I can tell when you wake through our bond. It helps that you wake up at almost the same exact time every morning, give or take a few minutes. The TARDIS helps. She gets the kettle started and all I have to do is go in and get it poured and brewed.” He smiled and sat down on the edge of the bed, setting the mug down on the bedside table long enough to lean in and give Scarlett a kiss.

She couldn’t help but chuckle as she felt him grinning in the middle of their kiss and pushed gently away. “You really are enjoying married life, aren’t you?”

“Immensely.” He continued grinning.

Scarlett set the mug of tea back down on the bedside table and grinned back at him. “Come here, Time Lord.”

-*-*-

The Doctor came out of their quarters an hour later, he was adjusting his tie as he entered the control room.

“That was a long tea break,” Donna said with a grin as she glanced up from the book she read. She was sideways in her pilot chair, feet propped over one arm of the seat. She grinned even more as the Doctor blushed and cleared his throat. “Oh, come on, Spaceman. You’re not the only newlyweds on the ship, no need to be shy.”

The Doctor cleared his throat again before finally saying, “Speaking of which, where’s my brother?” the Doctor spoke as he checked settings on the TARDIS console. “We need to continue our discussion regarding growing the TARDIS coral I gave him.”

Donna frowned and sat up in her chair. “Trying to get rid of us so quickly? I’m sorry, Doctor, I was just joking with you. I didn’t mean to embarrass you or anything—”

The Doctor’s face quickly turned back towards her. “Oh, no, no, Donna. No getting rid of you!” He came over to her and squatted down in front of her. “You’re still my best mate, and still traveling with me forever—we’re a family now, remember?” Upon seeing her face seem to lose some of its earlier worry, he moved to sit on the small jump seat attached to the pilot chair as he continued to explain, “No, we want to get you and Jacob your own TARDIS as a precaution. It will be a backup in case of emergency. We’ve already been working on plans how to dock the ships together as one unless we need to separate them. Not to say we couldn’t go on separate adventures or missions later on if we wanted, but I promise Donna—I wouldn’t ever want to ‘get rid’ of you. Why would I? You’re brilliant!” He grinned at her.

Donna sighed and smiled back at him. “You still think that, even after finding your soulmate, Doctor?”

“Think what?” Scarlett asked as she came in. Her hands were still finishing up the bun she had twisted her hair into. As she finished she came over and sat sidways on the Doctor’s lap, grinning at him and the red-head next to him.

“Donna here is questioning if I still think she’s the astonishingly brilliant being that I’ve always known she is,” the Doctor said, with an eyebrow raised.

Scarlett scowled momentarily as she considered the thought. “Why would you change your mind about that? Has something changed?” She turned to Donna, a small smile playing at the corner of her lips, though she tried to keep a straight face. “Donna, has marriage changed you?”

“Well,” Donna considered. “Of course it’s _changed_ me, but not who I am as a person.”

“Well then.” Scarlett shrugged. “Your brilliance hasn’t changed, so why should the Doctor’s opinion on it have changed?”

“I just thought that maybe—” Donna hesitated a moment.

It was long enough a pause for Scarlett to discern Donna’s concerns. “Donna Noble,” she said quietly as she leaned forward, closer to her fellow Time Lady, “the Doctor and I are _both_ beyond lucky to be able to consider you a friend. You two have been through _so much_ together. I would _never_ consider coming between your friendship. You are a part of who the Doctor is today. If I took that away from him, he wouldn’t be the amazing person _he_ is.”

“Ditto!” They all turned to see Jacob standing at the entryway to the control room from the hallway. He was smiling, leaned against the wall, with arms crossed over his chest. “Just the other way around.” He grinned and pointed between the Doctor and Donna.

Donna’s shoulders relaxed visibly, and Jacob came over to pull her up from her chair and wrapped his arms around her from behind.  She smiled as she looked over her shoulder at her husband, then back to her best friends. “How did I ever get so lucky?”

The Doctor grinned as he looked at Scarlett who had wrapped her arms around his neck, then back to his brother and best friend. “I’d ask the same thing.”

“Well, enough commiserating over how lucky we all are—I’m hungry—it’s time to land the Old Girl so we can go have breakfast with Sylvia, and the ‘Wednesday Girls,’” Scarlett said.

The Doctor frowned. “Remind me again why we’re doing this?”

“Because Sylvia wants to show off her daughter’s new husband _and_ his family,” Scarlett kindly reminded him.

“Can we go back over our cover story?” Jacob asked as he playfully rested his head on Donna’s shoulder.

“All we have to say is that we work for the government,” the Doctor explained.

“Oh, you’re not going to get away with just that, Sunshine,” Donna responded with a smirk.

“We’re scientists, and Donna is our team coordinator,” Scarlett added. “She keeps us organized, on task, and on mission.”

“Oh, I like that!” Jacob grinned as he kissed his wife on the cheek.

“Not a bit of a lie in that job description, either.” The Doctor mirrored his twins grin.

“Like you said, Doctor—brilliant our Donna Noble! And we’re going to make sure all her mother’s friends know it!” Scarlett smiled at her friend. “That’s _our_ mission for today.”


	8. Separation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We’re going forward in time now and dropping right into the middle of an adventure with our TARDIS Family. Put on your seatbelts, it’s going to be a bumpy ride!
> 
> We find ourselves years in the future on one of the TARDIS Family (Doctor, Scarlett, Donna, and Jacob) adventures. But things have gone terribly wrong and they’re running for their life to escape before they end up drifting through the vortex and ending up who knows where and when!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m baaack! After a few weeks off to focus on my blog and other writing, I was struck by inspiration for this story when I lay in bed one night and suddenly imagined our four main characters running through the corridors of a spaceship. And so—here we are! I’ve got lots for this already written, and am slowly sending it to proofreading with my lovely friend basmathgirl. I’m trying not to overwhelm her, and to take it slow as I continue to write till I complete the story. I don’t want to release too much at once in case I need to go back and fiddle with some parts of the story. 
> 
> But I just couldn’t wait to get back here with you all, so I’m releasing this chapter now! Hope you enjoy!
> 
> PS. The only characters in this story that I own are Scarlett and a few other Original Characters you’ll meet later on down the road. Otherwise, the BBC still owns them *sigh*.

The sounds of running feet could barely be heard over the rumbling of the ship around them, and the constant loud voice calling out the alarm over the speaker.

“DUE TO AN EXPLOSION ON THE TAIL SECTION OF THE SHIP, THAT SECTION MUST BE JETTISONED. SHIP SEPARATION WILL COMMENCE IN TWO MINUTES. ALL CREW EVACUATE TAIL SECTION IMMEDIATELY. SHIP SEPARATION WILL COMMENCE IN TWO MINUTES. COUNTDOWN BEGINS NOW.”

“We’ve got to get off this section of the ship or we’ll be stuck in the Vortex with no TARDIS and no way of steering this section!” Jacob yelled as they ran down the third corridor they had turned onto.

“The main bridge section has to be here somewhere? Why do they make all these bloody corridors look exactly the same?” Donna yelled as she followed close behind her husband, who was following the Doctor.

Scarlett was bringing up the rear, limping a bit from the gash she had gotten on her calf when a bulkhead had fallen during the initial explosion.

“SHIP SEPARATIONWILL COMMENCE IN ONE MINUTE THIRTY SECONDS. ALL CREW MEMBERS MUST EVACUATE THE TAIL SECTION IMMEDIATELY.”

“Scarlett, are you alright back there? How’s the leg?” the Doctor shouted as they continued to run at full speed.

“Oh, just peachy, darling!” Scarlett growled through gritted teeth. Every time her left foot hit the floor a sharp pain went up her leg. She was barely keeping up, but she wasn’t about to mention it to the rest of the group and have them slow down too.

“It’s just around this corner, I’m sure!” the eldest Time Lord called out again.

“SHIP SEPARATION WILL COMMENCE IN ONE MINUTE.”

The four Time Lords came around the corner to find another long corridor, but this one had lights flashing down in sequence towards the other end.

“I’m just going to take a guess and say maybe the lights are leading us out?” Donna said, finally starting to get out of breath herself.

“Let’s hope so!” Jacob agreed.

“SHIP SEPARATION WILL COMMENCE IN THIRTY SECONDS. BULKHEAD DOORS WILL NOW BEGIN CLOSING.”

As they made their way down what would be almost the end of their journey, Scarlett found herself getting even slower and limping even harder. No one else noticed, however, as they all focused on the end goal. Finally, they saw the main section, just in time to see the door slowly beginning its descent to seal off the main section from the tail end that was about to be jettisoned.

The Doctor made it through first and turned quickly to usher the others in. “C’mon, come on!” he yelled as he waved them through.

“15 SECONDS”

Jacob ducked as he ran through.

“10 SECONDS”

Donna ended up having to roll to get through and it was at that moment that all four of them realized.

“5 SECONDS”

“Scarlett!” the Doctor screamed as he beat on the window of the door.

The Teni-Time Lord made it to the door just as it sealed.

“Doctor!” she yelled as she placed her hand on the window, tears beginning to stream down her eyes, a combination of physical and emotional pain.

“Scarlett! I’ll find you! I promise I will!” he called out as he placed his hand over hers on his side of the window.

“SHIP SEPARATION WILL NOW COMMENCE”

The Doctor continued to call out as the clamps that kept the two sections of the ship together finally released. “I’ll find you! No matter what, I’ll find you!”

But it was too late. She couldn’t hear him anymore as the long tail end of the ship drifted away. He, Jacob, and Donna watched in horror as they saw the section spin in space and then suddenly get yanked out of the Vortex.


	9. Ripped Apart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Doctor and Scarlett must separately deal with the consequences of having their bond ripped away.   
> Jacob and Donna do their best to look after the Doctor while Scarlett prepares herself for the quickly approaching crashlanding of the jettisoned ship section she's been stranded on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I mentioned we were moving forward in time to this story. In this chapter we find out how long it’s been since our Time Lord Family had their marriage ceremonies.

The Doctor gasped in pain as he dropped to the floor in a crumpled heap with his head in his hands. “She’s gone, she’s gone, she’s gone,” he repeated to himself through gritted teeth. Jacob and Donna knelt down, each on one side of him, and held him as they wept with him. His mind felt as if a part of it had been ripped away as his bond with Scarlett was suddenly gone.

As Donna watched him clutch his head she could only imagine what he was feeling. She had her own bond with Jacob, but even she knew there was something particularly strong about the bond that the Doctor and Scarlett had, them both being so strong in their telepathic abilities had made their link even more powerful than her own with her Time Lord husband. She whispered, “But—does this mean? Is she?”

The Doctor didn’t reply. His whole body shuddered in pain and misery. The last time he had felt pain this deep was at the loss of his people.

“Not necessarily,” Jacob replied quietly. “If—If the section of the ship she was on survived the fall through the vortex, there’s no telling where in time and space she landed. It could be that she’s so far away physically and in time that it’s too far for their bond to withstand.”  They sat quietly for a few moments, holding their grieving brother and best friend. “C’mon, we’ve got to get him to the TARDIS. He’s in shock and the only thing to help him is the Old Girl. Doctor, we’re going to help you up and we’ll take as much of your weight as we can, but I need you to not resist. Just help as much as you can. We’re going to get you back to the TARDIS and you can rest.”

-*-*-

_*Somewhere else in time and space-a long way away and a long time in the future*_

Scarlett was curled up in a ball on the floor of the ship. The pain in her head was quite literally almost unbearable. She felt herself fading in and out of consciousness. One minute the dead ship was spinning out of control through the vortex, then a huge jerk as it fell out of the vortex and that was when she collapsed under the pain of the quick and unexpected severance of her bond with the Doctor. She could tell she was slipping into shock as her body quaked, her hearts pounded, and sweat and tears both fell down her face and drenched her clothing. She squeezed her eyes shut, curled herself further into the fetal position, and began trying to control her breathing. She used every ounce of training she had ever had in meditation to focus on her breathing and ignore the rumbling of the ship around her as it hurtled through who knows what space in who knows what time.

She and her Time Lord family had discussed the fact that something like this could happen. Being separated by such great distance in time or space could be problematic, potentially even fatal. But there were no tests to determine how far in time or space one could be before negative impacts could occur, such as total bond separation. And no amount of theoretical discussion or preparation could prepare one for the mental pain she was now experiencing. And that amount of mental pain had its own physical ramifications, such as loss of consciousness, shock, severe headache, nausea, and vertigo.

-*-*-

As Donna and Jacob dragged the Doctor towards the TARDIS in the corridor they had hidden her in, they were thankful for their perception filters that allowed them to hide in plain sight from the chaos of the crew running around them. By the time they made it to the ship, the Doctor was unconscious, and they were carrying him. As soon as they entered they could tell the ship was just as unhappy as the rest of them.  Jacob took over and picked the Doctor up fully and carried him to the med bay, laying him gently onto one of the beds. As soon as he stepped back the screen above the head of his bed lit up with scan results that showed what would have appeared to be brain damage to a non-Time Lord, and in a manner of speaking, that was exactly what it was.

“What can we do?” Donna croaked out as she collapsed into a chair next to her best friend.

“Nothing. We need to let him rest. His connection with the Old Girl will help him heal a bit. For now, let’s take a moment,” Jacob said as he pulled up a chair next to his wife and put his hand on top of hers that had rested on top of the Doctor’s.

Together, they wept. They wept for their friend who was somewhere out there in the universe alone, hoping she was alive. They wept for the Doctor. Jacob’s brother. Donna’s best friend. He lay before them a broken man, having lost the woman who had been his bond mate now for over ten years.

-*-*-

Suddenly, an arm extended from the curled-up body that lay on the floor of the dead ship section. It grasped at the floor and pulled the rest of the body up out of the fetal position and onto hands and knees. Scarlett’s face turned up to the ceiling as she took another deep breath. “I have to live,” she stated simply, to no one, as no one was there to hear her. It was the only thing she knew for sure. She had to live.

A quick look around and she found a computer screen on the wall and crawled towards it. She was thankful the detached ship section still maintained artificial gravity, but had to stay low to the ground until necessary as the ship wasn’t providing a very balanced surface as it hurtled through space, jolting around at unexpected times. Once she made it to the floor below the screen, she finally pulled herself up and looked at the readouts. She tapped at several screen icons, trying to make sense of the alien language on the screen. “Grrr!” she growled. “The TARDIS translation circuits don’t reach this far either. Oh--” she stopped. It didn’t take any knowledge of the alien language to understand the graphic that appeared on the screen.  A very clear representation of the ship section was approaching a big round object: a planet. “Well, this is going to get interesting.” 

At that moment, the ship started shaking and jolting around even more as it began to enter the planet’s atmosphere. There was nowhere to grab hold of, nowhere to strap in, nowhere to hide or protect herself. So once again, Scarlett got onto the floor and curled up into a ball, closing her eyes and taking deep breaths as she waited for the inevitable collision. “I have to live.”

-*-*-

Donna awoke with a start as the Doctor jolted up in to a sitting position on the medical bed. “I have to live!” he exclaimed to no one in particular.

“Damn right you do, Spaceman!” Donna replied as she quickly stood and wrapped her arms around him in a hug. “My God, you scared me.”

“Where are we?” the Doctor asked, not quite acknowledging Donna’s concern.

“On the TARDIS,” Donna answered in concern. The Doctor turned and raised his eyebrow at her. “Oh—in the vortex. Jacob got us off the ship and into the vortex ourselves after downloading all the data he could from the ship databanks. He’s in the control room analyzing the data to see if he can pinpoint at exactly what moment the tail section left the vortex and perhaps determine where she ended up.” Donna felt the Doctor visibly tense at the word ‘she.’

The Doctor pulled out of her arms and shifted off the bed into a standing position. He was obviously still shaky and fighting to maintain balance.

“Shouldn’t you be resting? You’ve had a shock, Doctor,” Donna called after him as he started to walk towards the exit of the medbay.

“Nope.” It was all he said for a few moments but as he approached the door he continued, “I should—I should help Jacob.”

“We’ll find her, won’t we Doctor?” Donna called out again before he made it out the door that had slid open for him.

He stopped and turned back and she almost gasped at the look in his eyes. It was a terrifying mix of total desperation and determination. She would almost describe it as the look of…a madman. “If it takes a million years. If it’s the last thing I do. I will find my wife.” Without another word he turned and walked out, leaving Donna staring after him.

-*-*-


	10. Survival

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While Scarlett begins to assess the planet she's crash landed on, Jacob and Donna keep busy trying to take care of the Doctor while searching for their lost friend.

Scarlett wasn’t sure how long it was before the impact. Nor was she sure what direction she had been flung or how far she had flown through the air before she and the ship crashed. She was only conscious a brief moment after impact. She had no idea how long she was unconsciousness, but when she came to, all she saw was darkness. For a moment she thought she had lost her eyesight but soon discovered she was covered by a piece of debris. She began assessing her own physical condition and found that other than the continuous mental pain in her mind and physical pain in her head, and the gash in her leg she had received at the beginning of this whole mess, she seemed to be in relatively good shape.. She wiggled all her body parts to confirm they were all present and accounted for. She could feel her toes, her feet, her legs, her fingers, her hands, her arms, even if they were bruised and banged up. Then it was time to use some of that superior Teni strength to get out of whatever mess this hunk of metal had wrapped her up in.

It took an hour before she finally made headway and was able to lift the debris up and off her. She went from total darkness to a bright light blinding her vision. After shading her eyes and adjusting to the light, she began the crawl up and out of the debris. She decided to begin counting the things that had worked in her favor. Something to keep her mind off the deep dark despair that was fighting hard to creep back into her mind. If she took even a moment to glance into her own mind all she saw was a big black gaping hole. So instead she opened her senses up to the world around her. The closer she got to the top of the debris, the more she realized that it was very, very warm on whatever planet this was. She could hear wind whistling around and wondered what it was blowing against, other than the ship.

When she finally reached the top of the debris, that was then she realized: it was sand. The wind was blowing through huge mountainous sand dunes. As far as the eye could see there were mountains of sand and the debris of the tail section was right in the middle of a valley that had gotten even deeper due to the crater it had left. She had crash landed in the middle of a desert.

“Great. I come from a planet of water and I land on a planet with desert as far as I can see. Just great.” She sighed then coughed as the wind whipped sand straight across her face. She made quick work of ripping off a section of her tunic and turning it into a face mask, then began her descent down the outside of the debris.

-*-*-

Jacob watched as the Doctor worked on the opposite side of the console from him. He glanced towards Scarlett’s chair, then back at the Doctor. They had spent two days examining the data, trying to determine, based on the ship’s own coordinates in time and space, where the tail section might have ended up. The Doctor hadn’t eaten or slept in those two days and he knew none of them had slept the two nights before that they had spent on the alien ship before the explosion. He knew there were only two people in the universe who could probably make him eat something. One of them was somewhere else altogether, that was the problem. The other, he was hoping, would be arriving any second from the kitchen.

As if right on cue, a voice called out from the entryway, “Alright Spaceman. I don’t care if I have to strap you down to your chair and force feed you, you are going to eat.”

“Donna, I don’t have time right now—” the Doctor started to argue.

“Oi! Spaceman! Shut it!” Donna yelled loud enough that the Doctor whipped around and stared at her. Once she had his attention, she continued, “What did you say when you woke back up two days ago?”

“What are you talking about?” he snapped back at her.

“You said, ‘I have to live.’ Well how the bloody hell are you going to live if you starve yourself?  You’re already skinny enough as it is. I’m not going to have your wife coming back on this ship and badgering me about not taking proper care of you while she was gone.” Donna set the plate and cup down by his chair across the room and came towards him.

“You talk—you talk about her as if she’s going to just stroll in any minute.” The Doctor was attempting to remain harsh but his voice was broken, as was his strength.

“I talk about her as if she’s still alive, Doctor, because I have to hope that she is. I’d like to think you are too since you’re going to all _this_ trouble,” she said, motioning to the console. “You’re not even attempting to make us think you’re okay. And you’re not. You’re not bloody okay, Doctor. And that’s normal. But you _have_ to eat something. And you _have_ to sleep. Or it’s only going to get worse. You won’t be able to concentrate. You won’t be able to focus. You’ll be no good to her. You won’t find her if you’re not thinking straight. So sit _down_ and eat the sandwich I made you. Drink the tea. Then go to your quarters and get some sleep. A shower wouldn’t hurt either. And maybe a shave. I’ve never seen you with scruff before—” Donna said as she touched the Doctor’s chin in a friendly gentle gesture.

His hand reached up and rubbed the other side of his chin with a sigh. “I don’t normally even have to worry about facial hair, Time Lord physiology and all. We can just control the hair growth. But I’ve been too busy to even worry about it.” He frowned as the momentary distraction waned and his mind went back to the dark place it had been.

Donna noticed his quick change in demeanor and her hand moved from his chin to his shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. “Jacob and I will keep working and I promise we’ll tell you as soon as we figure something out.” Donna had finished her compassionate tirade and waiting to see what the Doctor decided. Her husband watched quietly, but with pride for her, and compassion for his brother.

“Doctor, I know it’s different. But we do miss her too. We want her back. We want to find her too. We’ll do whatever it takes,” Jacob added.

The Doctor collapsed into his seat, elbows stabbing into his knees as he buried his face in his hands, rubbing his palms up and down his face, then stopping with his face buried in them. “Alright. You win, Donna Noble.” He sat up and grabbed the sandwich, shoving it into his mouth and ripping a bite off. The slightest of twitches came across the corner of his mouth as he chewed. “Peanut butter and banana.”

“Mmmhmm, your favorite, Spaceman.” Donna smiled fondly at him. “I thought all the protein and potassium would do you good.” She leaned back against the console and Jacob joined her, wrapping his arm around her waist as he stood next to her.

After a moment of chewing, the Doctor looked up at them. “Are you two going to stare at me the whole time I eat or are you going to study the reports?”

Donna and Jacob both snickered and turned to get to work. Donna sat in her pilot’s chair and hit the button to pull it up to the console so that she could sit and type away at her keyboard. She worked much faster this way and could go through the reports twice as fast as either of the Time Twins.

-*-*-

Scarlett had climbed around the debris long enough to discover there were no rations or water to be found. That was bad. She did find a piece of debris that could serve as a weapon, a spear of sorts, in case she ran into anyone or anything that intended her harm. She gathered together a few more things that might serve as tools in a pinch, then stripped off the outer layer of her tunic and used it to wrap them up, forming a backpack out of the material. It was hot enough anyway that all she needed was her thinner, inner-layer tunic that was cut at her midriff.

She then began her long, long walk across the high desert dunes, looking for some sign of civilization, or at least something she could use for shelter, food, and water. Something to survive.

-*-*-


	11. Two are Better Than One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Doctor struggles with his lost connection to Scarlett. Meanwhile she's trying to survive on the desert planet. Donna and Jacob work to help their friend and brother find his bride.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The long awaited return of the Doctor, Scarlett, Jacob, and Donna. :) Sorry it's taken me so long to get back around to this. I've had several more chapters written for quite some time, but had set them aside worrying I might want to go back and revise something. But I've decided to just throw them up here and hopefully enjoy some free time to write more.   
> I've been a bit busy writing original fiction and am about to publish a book, but I needed a break from the business side of things on that front, so I came back to my first love - fan fiction. :) I missed you all!

"Doctor! Doctor! We've found something!" Donna came running into the library where the Doctor was sleeping on the sofa. After finishing his meal, he had insisted he was going to the library, not their quarters. He couldn't bring himself to even step into them without her there.

The Doctor leapt up off the sofa. "What!? What is it?"

"I think we've found what system she's ended up in!" his friend explained.

The two of them ran back to the control room where Jacob was running around the console adjusting various controls. Without looking up he began explaining, "It was Donna, all Donna. She managed to pinpoint what solar system the ship was crossing through when the tail end left the Vortex. It's our best guess. We've no way to tell what time she may have ended up in, but it's something."

"Something!" the Doctor shouted with an undefinable look on his face, initially leading Donna to believe he was upset.  Then his expression changed to one she was more familiar with, a bright beaming smile. "That's more than just something! That's brilliant!  Donna, you're brilliant!" He ran up and hugged her, picking her up off the floor as he spun her around.

-*-*-

Two days. For two days Scarlett trudged through the desert. Her sonic screwdriver provided no useful information, some sort of interference from minerals in the sand. Scarlett found herself growing more and more tired. Her leg was throbbing, her injury from the explosion on the ship was going to need looking after soon. The trauma from the crash caused what had initially been only an small wound that slowed her down when running, to pull open and start bleeding worse.  She could see blood soaking through the makeshift bandage she had wrapped around it. She needed to rest, but there was no way she was stopping in the middle of the desert. She needed water and food desperately, but there was no sign of vegetation. She looked at the next huge sand dune she had to traverse and sighed. Survival instincts and an image of the Doctor in her mind drove her to continue.

-*-*-

"When we get there, will you be able to feel her presence again, Doctor?" Donna came up beside her friend at the console and looked at him questioningly.

He shook his head as he answered, "I don't know."

"You don't know?" Donna asked.

"Yes, Donna. I don't know," he said, bitterness seeping through his voice. "There's no precedence that I'm aware of for a marriage bond being ripped apart, I've no idea what will happen when we're back together. No idea if we can heal the bond. No idea if it will ever be what it was."

"Spaceman, you love each other, that's nothing to do with any Gallifreyan marriage bond. You'll be fine, I just know it," Donna said as she gently placed a comforting hand on his back.

"Do you? How can you be sure? I can't. If I had time I might be able to do research in the library, but I can't be here and there at the same time. And I can't send Jacob, I need him here to help me. We need to be sure the scanners are set to pick up on her Teni-Gallifrey Time Lord DNA. It's unique enough that we should be able to pinpoint her location once we're in the right time."

"Well then, sounds like I have a job. You two stick your noses in the console, I'm going to stick my nose into the books. I'll be in the library researching Time Lord marriage bonds." Donna turned and swiftly moved out of the control room before the Doctor could argue. Jacob looked on with a smile at the corner of his mouth.

The Doctor looked up at Jacob and saw his expression, giving a smirk of his own. "That woman of yours is a force to be reckoned with."

"That woman of mine has saved both our hides more times than we can count. She's amazing. We'll find Scarlett, Doctor, and when we do, we'll make things right," Jacob said reassuringly as he looked across the console at his brother.

-*-*-

"Blessed Teni, finally!" Scarlett gasped as she reached the top of the mountainous dune. Across the next valley stood several small buildings, one long larger building, and what appeared to be a water tower. With a burst of energy at the encouraging sight, Scarlett broke into a run, or at least as fast a run as she could muster with the limp that she still had. As she did, she pointed her sonic screwdriver towards the buildings and held it close to her face to examine the readings. No life signs that she could detect, but she didn't know if that was due to interference or a true reading.

As she neared the closest of the buildings, she slowed to a stop and took a moment to close her eyes and reach out to sense if there were any life forms close by.  She detected nothing through telepathic means either, so she decided it was safe enough to proceed.

Several hours later she had scouted out all the buildings, finding small living quarters, a laboratory/office building, and what appeared to have been a greenhouse at one time. The water tower was connected to what had once been a water reclamation unit, genius technology that seemed to convert minerals from the sand into water. The bad news was, it was broken. She grinned as she examined the unit. With what she had brought with her from the crash site, her sonic screwdriver, and parts and supplies on site, she should be able to get it back up and running. The greenhouse was dead and dusty, but she found water pipes connected from the tower to the greenhouse and assumed that once she got the water back in production, perhaps the greenhouse could become viable again.

She dug further into the cabinets in the living quarters and found emergency rations. Glancing around further, she walked across the room and plopped herself down onto a small single bed. Shifting around a bit before adjusting the pillow behind her against the wall, she pulled her shoes off, crossed her legs up under her, and began to peel off the wrapper from the ration bar she had recovered. With a deep breath she slowly ate as she examined her new temporary home. Temporary, she hoped. She looked up to the sky, calling out loud and telepathically, "Are you coming?"

-*-*-

"I'm coming for you," Jacob heard the Doctor say under his breath as he worked.

Jacob cleared his throat. "Doctor, I was thinking--this job might be easier if we split up."

The Doctor quickly looked up from the screen he was examining. "You think he's ready? You think she's ready?" On the last question he motioned back towards the hallway, referring to Donna.

"Only one way to know on both accounts," Jacob answered just as Donna came walking in with an open book in her hand.

"Ready for what?" she asked, though her head didn't look up from the book.

"Um, you first. Have you found something?" Jacob dodged the question a bit longer. Donna hadn't been thrilled about the idea of leaving Scarlett, the Doctor, or the TARDIS--even for her--their--own ship. She was just too fond of her friends and the Old Girl and struggled to see why they should want or need to travel on their own when the TARDIS was plenty big enough for them to spend days apart without ever seeing each other if need be.

"Only the best news ever! Look here, Doctor! There's a story of a bonded couple that had been together for several hundred years. She was kidnapped, and they were separated by time and space for thirty years before finding each other again. When they came back together they were able to heal their bond. See, I told you! It'll be fine!" She smiled and handed him the book.

The Doctor flipped through the pages before and after the one she was on, quickly scanning the information. "That's wonderful Donna. This is more of a book of Gallifreyan fairy tales than historical or educational, but as we've experienced, most fairytales are based in the truth, so we'll take it as a good sign." He smiled warmly at his friend, thankful that she was determined to keep him positive.

"So, Time Twins, I was thinking, maybe now would be a good time to put Red into action?" Donna said, flipping the pages a bit more in the book and glancing up to see the twins staring at her, mouths agape. She frowned deeply. "What? Is there something on my face? Why are you both staring at me like that?" She barked out at them both.

The twins looked at each other a moment before the Doctor spoke up. "That's a brilliant idea, Donna! Two TARDISes would definitely make quicker work of this. I hate not to head straight to the solar system you've found, but a quick trip to Cardiff to pick up your baby boy up shouldn't be too much trouble.

-*-*-


	12. Red

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The family left on the TARDIS searching for Scarlett decide it's time to use their backup plan. Is he ready? And will they bring along some help?
> 
> Meanwhile, time passes by for Scarlett, alone.

Scarlett took a long drink from the tall glass of water in her hand and smiled as she looked around the produce of the latest crop she had brought in from the green house earlier.  After a while, her face turned into a frown. Too much quiet, she thought to herself. Always too much quiet. Why couldn't they have at least had a radio or something to listen to? Whoever -they- were. She sighed. "How many times have I had this conversation with myself?" she said aloud.

She glanced out and noticed it had grown dark, so, just like every night, she picked up her sonic screwdriver and walked outside, making the trek to the top of the nearby sand dune. She took a deep breath and stretched her hand into the air, pointing the sonic towards the starry sky and activating the device.  It was a long shot, that the TARDIS might be nearby and pick up her signature or that of her sonic, but could it hurt? How many nights over the years do I keep doing this before it becomes insanity to believe he's looking for me? That he's coming back for me? she thought to herself. After five minutes, she dropped her hand to her side with a sigh and walked back towards her home.

-*-*-

The three Time Lords landed the blue police box right next to a red telephone box on the newly rebuilt Roald Dahl Plass. Jack Harkness had overseen the clean-up and reconstruction after the explosion that occurred during the tragic incident the 456. Stepping out of the TARDIS and onto the Plass reminded the Doctor of the tragic day when he was unable to help his friend. The 456 had seen to it that the TARDIS was unable to reach Earth, despite Jack's frantic calls to the Doctor through his vortex manipulator.

"It's about time you showed back up," a voice called out from behind the Time Lord. He swung around and saw Jack approaching, wearing his trademark outfit, coat billowing out behind him in the breeze.

"Jack, I--" the Doctor hesitated. He could barely bring himself to look at his friend, not because of anything he had done, but because of his disappointment in himself for not finding a way to make it to him. "I would ask how you knew we were here, but I'm sure you keep this place monitored."

Jack nodded. "Day and night, but that's not how I knew you were here. You only just arrived, even I couldn't make it here that fast. Well, almost, but I try not to use the vortex manipulator unless I'm in a real pinch. No, when a certain red head calls and tells me to show up, I listen." He nodded his head towards Donna as she stepped out of the TARDIS with Jacob. He returned the woman's smile, then turned his gaze back to the Doctor with a more serious expression. "I'm coming with you."

"Jack, I can't ask you--" the Doctor started arguing but was quickly interrupted.

"Yes, you can. Of course, you can. You can always ask me for help. You think I'm not going to be there to help you find your wife?" Jack asked as he came up close and stood, looking eye to eye, at the Doctor.

"Jack, you've already done so much, I can't--" Once again, the Doctor tried to argue before Jack stopped him.

"Doctor, I've had to learn to stop blaming myself for what happened. When are you going to do the same?" Jack said, staring into his friend's soul with a look of both compassion and resolve. "Now, come on. Donna brought me up to speed. With Old Blue and Baby Red here, we've got an unbeatable team to find her. You need someone with you on the Old Girl to help with the scans and piloting. I'm your man."

Jacob smirked. "Old Blue and Baby Red?".            

"Hey buddy, you're the one who decided to disguise him as a red telephone box. It just sort of fits, don't you think?" Jack smirked back.

"I like it," Donna responded, patting the red telephone box on the side. "Baby Red and Old Blue. I think it works nicely. And Spaceman, don't even think of arguing any more. I'm not letting you be alone on that TARDIS while we do this. You need someone and Jack's the right person for the job. And if push comes to shove, he can be on the ground and use his vortex manipulator to time hop till we find her."

The Doctor rolled his head back and forth as if he was making a decision--one that had already been made for him. "Oh, alright!" he said and gave a small smile towards Jack just in time for the man to pull him into a hug. "Do you have your sonic?"

Jack pulled the device out of his inside jacket pocket. "Always, now. After the 456, I never leave home without it."

-*-*-

Scarlett sat at the desk in the laboratory and opened the makeshift journal she had created. "Year Ten. It's so, so quiet. What I wouldn't do to hear Donna yelling at the Doctor about him leaving his tea mug lying about the console. Ten years and I still miss them like it was yesterday that we were separated. While one part of me thinks that by now they must have stopped looking, another part of me remembers that time is relative. That for them it might only be days and they are on their way. I know my Doctor won't stop, even if it's to his detriment. I'm sure one part of me should hope that he eventually gives up and makes himself a happy life without me. But I must admit there is a part of me that hopes that ten years later he's still just as lonely without me as I am without him. Still. I must live. It's all I know to do, now. Without him. Because giving up and dying is something that neither of us would ever want for the other. There must be a reason I'm here, alone, ten years later." She finished scribbling out the note and closed the book, going out for her morning work in the greenhouse.

-*-*-

 


	13. Brendan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Time Family continues their search for Scarlett--meanwhile, she has an unexpected guest.

"This is Old Blue calling Baby Red, do you read me?" Jack grinned as he spoke while examining the screen.

Soon, Donna's face popped up on the screen Jack was watching and she grinned as wide as him. "Baby Red reading you loud and clear."

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "You two are having way too much fun."

Jack glanced at the Time Lord by his side. "Alright then, Doc--back to business." He then turned his attention back to the screen. "So, the two TARDIS' will stay joined until we arrive at the time we've chosen to start our search. You two have your planet assignments. We'll go to the specified time, separate, and begin scanning the planets. If neither of us finds her on our assigned planets, we rendezvous and move to the next point in time. We keep going till we find her."

"Why don't we use the ships to search two different points in time--at the same time?" Donna said, almost confusing herself with her own wording.

The Doctor came closer into view and explained before Jacob could, "Red needs more time and practice with his time circuits to be sure he can pinpoint destinations in time correctly. It'll just be more difficult if we found Scarlett first and you couldn't get to the proper time easily. We'll still get the job done in half the time by each scanning a half of the solar system. Tagging along with the Old Girl will be good for him."

"Alright, let's get started," Jacob added.

-*-*-

Scarlett had just finished another journal entry in the ever-growing pages of her journal. She was about to close the thick book when a loud explosion made her jump out of her seat.

She immediately ran towards the door, afraid that she might have lost the water reclamation unit or water tower--an incident that would mean death by dehydration for her. There was no sign of damage to the unit so she scanned the rest of the surroundings and saw smoke coming from behind the living quarters. She ran that direction and as she rounded the corner of the building saw what appeared to be the remains of a small one-person ship, about the size of a fighter ship, lying in ruins. Running closer she saw a man slumped over in the pilot's seat and ran to see if he was alive.

Moments later she checked his pulse to find him alive and quickly began unstrapping him from his seat, a hard job with him unconscious and all his weight leaned forward. She called out out to him, "Sir, sir – can you hear me?" Finally she pulled the last strap off of him and leaned him back in his seat to get a look at him. She gasped as she saw a very familiar face. "Balen?  But no, you can't be Balen. But you could almost be his twin. Let's get you out of here," she spoke to the unconscious pilot.

A few hours later, the man lay on a cot in the laboratory/office which also held medical supplies. He opened his eyes and smiled when he saw Scarlett. "Well hello there, you must be an angel, because I am fairly certain I crashed to my death."

"Lucky for you, death wasn't the end result of your crash. I'm no angel, however. My name is Scarlett. Welcome to what I have named the planet Inet."

"You named this planet? Sounds like there must be an interesting story there. My name is Brendan, pleasure to meet you Scarlett." The man said as he sat up with a wince and accepted a glass of water from Scarlett.

"You're very lucky to be alive Brendan, that injury," she said pointing to his side before continuing, "Would have been fatal had I not been here to patch you up. I'm afraid the news isn't as good for your ship, there'll be no repairing it. You're stuck here like me. And yes, there is an interesting story, a rather long one at that." Scarlett explained as she passed Brendan a plate of cut up fruits.

"Well, if we're stuck here like you say we are, then I suppose I've got plenty of time to hear this long interesting story." Brendan accepted the plate and slowly began eating as he looked around. "Where's everyone else?"

"There is no one else. Just me." She paused and considered her time on the planet. "Well, I could start with my own crash landing--just about fifteen years ago," Scarlett began to explain.

"Fifteen years ago?!" Brendan exclaimed. "Are you telling me you've been alone here for fifteen years? That's a long time!"

"Well, it's not too bad when you live as long as I do--and have."

"What?  How old are you?" the man said as he examined her closely.

Scarlett chuckled before explaining, "I am about two hundred and fifty years old, Brendan."

His eyes grew wide. "You are pulling my leg, my dear. No way. You don't look more that thirty-five--forty at the most!"

Scarlett grinned. "I wondered if you might have that reaction. I'm guessing then that your species has a shorter lifespan. You see, Brendan. I come from a planet called Teni. And since I know this is going to bring about lots of questions, and you need to know who it is I hope will come and rescue us one day, I should start a little earlier in my story than at my own crash landing. You see, Brendan--I am a Time Lord. We live a very long time, thousands of years if we take care of ourselves--"

-*-*-

Search & Rescue, Day 84

"This is Old Blue calling Baby Red. Report?"

"Nothing yet on our end, we're just finishing up the scan of our final planet." Donna reported.

"Same here. See you in an hour." Jack shut off the commlink and looked up at the Doctor. In the almost-three months they had been searching, Donna had tasked Jack with being sure the Time Lord ate and slept enough. 'Enough' was a term that was up for deliberation, according to the Doctor. But still, Jack kept a careful eye on him. It was obvious, though, that the stress and worry was getting to him. He looked almost like a different man, older, and had allowed the scruffy beard to grow a bit further. Jack had mentioned it a month ago and the Doctor just glared at him. Now, the Time Lord was pacing along the glass of the control room floor, hands rooted in his hair. Jack spoke up, getting the other man's attention,  "Doc, I know that look--"

The Doctor stopped and looked hopelessly at his friend. "Jack, what if we don't find her? What if I have to spend the rest of my lives with this gaping hole in my head and my hearts?"

"Oh, no, Doc. You're not giving up hope yet. We still have plenty of years to search through. And we can recheck those reports from the ship you were on and see if maybe it could have been an adjacent solar system--" Jack was interrupted by a sudden loud alarm on the console. He and the Doctor looked at each other then at the console again. "What is that?" Jack yelled over the loud beeping.

Suddenly the Doctor's face lit up in a bright beaming smile. "That is the scanner!  She's found something! The Old Girl has found her!" The Doctor began running around the console and Jack ran to the computer.

"Old Blue to Baby Red, we have something! I repeat, we have something! We've got bells and whistles going off over here I didn't know the Old Girl could make! Get here QUICK! I'm sending you the coordinates now." Jack yelled into the monitor.

"Baby Red to Old Blue! We read you! We're on our way!!" Donna yelled back through the commlink just before the Doctor hit the lever sending the ship towards the sensor readings.

-*-*-

 


	14. Reunited

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How long has it been since they last saw each other?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Song: "You Are The Reason" by Calum Scott

-*-*-

Scarlett was on her hands and knees, pulling vegetables out of the soil in the green house when she heard a familiar sound of wheezing and groaning and suddenly a strong presence burst into her mind. She gasped out as she collapsed to the ground. "No, no it can't be. Can it? Could he be here?" After a panting for breath for a moment she began to regain her composure. What am I doing sitting here?  She thought to herself as she jumped to her feet and ran out of the green house, towards the living quarters.

It was then she saw it: the familiar old wooden box that held her hopes and dreams. As feelings and senses overwhelmed her she collapsed to her knees, frozen in that moment, staring at the blue box.

-*-*-

Just as the ship materialized the Doctor fell to his knees on the control room floor. Jack ran over to him. "What is it? What's wrong, Doc?"

"Oh Jack--Jack. It isn't what's wrong. It's what's right. I can feel her--" the Doctor wept as he began explaining to Jack. "I can feel her in my mind again, just at the edge, but I can feel her warm presence there in my mind. She's alive, Jack. And she's close."

"Then what are you waiting for, Doc? It's been three months for us, hopefully not so long for her." Jack smiled as he pulled his friend up to his feet.

-*-*-

Scarlett watched through teary eyes as the door to the TARDIS creaked open. Even across the distance, from the top of the dune where the Old Girl sat, she could hear the creaky door.  Her heart continued to fill as she felt the time ship touching her mind as well as the other familiar presence that was pushing at the edges of a scarred empty place. But it was the sight of the man who stepped through the door that started her weeping openly. Her hands covered her mouth as she sobbed at the sight of him running down the hill towards her.

As he approached, he went to his knees and slid towards her, closing the final distance between them, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her towards him in almost one fluid motion.

"Is it you, is it really you? You're not a hallucination? Not a dream? It's really you?" She questioned over and over again as she wrapped her arms around his solid, physical, very much there, body.

"It's me, I'm here. And you're here. I've finally found you," he gasped out, his voice hoarse with emotion. The Doctor pulled back and looked at her again, taking in her every feature as if it was the first time.

"How long have you been looking?" she asked as she reached out to touch the short stubble that ran up from his chin up his jawline. Her voice was shaky with emotion, her mind anxious in anticipation of the answer.

"It's been two months, twenty-three days, eighteen hours, forty eight minutes we've been looking. Oh! Jack is with us, he came to help look." The Doctor helped her stand up from the hallowed place where they had found each other again and they glanced back towards the TARDIS together and saw Jack leaning against the doorframe of the TARDIS. The gentle but vibrant old soul was giving them the room they needed for their reunion. Jack saluted playfully towards Scarlett and she smiled and bowed her head momentarily in return. "Jacob and Donna will be here soon, we pulled Baby Red into action for the search."

"Baby Red?" She questioned with a smile. She had almost forgotten about the other TARDIS. And at the moment, she was distracted by the sound of his voice in her ears again.

His mouth opened to answer, then he noticed something. His mouth turned into a small frown of confusion as he watched her. She was hiding something. As he spoke his hand ran through her now long hair. "How long have you been here?"

She rested her hands on his shoulders and inwardly attempted to regain her composure. "It doesn't matter now. You're here."

He frowned again. "Of course it matters. How long?" he insistently questioned her again.

She sighed and answered truthfully. "Twenty-five years." He gasped and his face turned to a look of unbelieving shock. She continued, "And five months, twenty-eight days, thirteen hours, and--thirty two minutes."

"Scarlett," the Doctor gasped out. "I--I'm so--" A sob escaped from him as his hand quickly covered his own mouth.

It was that moment that Jack ran forward, sensing something was wrong. "What is it, what's wrong?"

"Jack, it's so good to see you again." Scarlett said to the man without taking her eyes off the Doctor.

Jack looked back and forth between the two Time Lords till it became obvious they weren't going to explain. "What's going on?"

The Doctor dropped his hand from his mouth, but his head hung low. "Tell him."

Scarlett sighed, then looked at Jack. "The Doctor just asked me how long I've been here."

"And?" Jack asked, a growing sense of dread growing inside him.

"And I explained to him that I've been here just over twenty-five and a half years," Scarlett answered.

"Oh my god," Jack responded in shock, then looked around. "You've been all alone for over twenty-five years?"

"Alone?" the Doctor finally broke out of his own thoughts to look around what he could see of the compound.

"More or less, for most of it yes." Scarlett answered and nodded.

The Doctor considered a moment before his eyes lit up. "I've got it, we'll just leave and go back to closer to the time you landed."

"No." Scarlett answered quickly and firmly.

"No?" the Doctor questioned in shock.

"No. I can't let you do that. If I hadn't been here five years ago Brendan would have died." Scarlett explained, though both men only looked more confused.

"Brendan?" Jack asked before the Doctor could. "Who the hell is Brendan?"

The Doctor said nothing, but Scarlett could see the change in his demeanor as thoughts flew through his head of the possibilities of who this unknown man might be. Scarlett's face grew serious as she stepped closer to her bondmate. "Three months away from me--have you forgotten my promise to you, Doctor?" The storm swirled within her eyes as she quickly moved her hands up to his temples, only centimeters away from touching him. Then she waited for a sign from him. A sign he was ready to receive what she needed to give him.

There was a slight almost imperceptible twitch of a nod of his head and it was all she needed. As her fingertips touched his skin, he sucked in his breath at the feel of her mind in his. _Have you forgotten our promise, Theta? I will spend the rest of my lives with you, Doctor of Gallifrey. I pledged to you my hearts, my soul, my body, my love, and my lives. I will protect and care for you till my dying breath, the day when no regenerations remain. Have you forgotten that promise we made to each other that night when we pledged to marry?_

Their foreheads rested against each other and without thought the Doctor moved his own hands to her temples, their bond flaring open even further with another gasp from the both of them. _I had not forgotten, my love. I only--I'm sorry--twenty-five years is still a long time to wait when you've been left alone on an abandoned planet--_

Scarlett smiled. Both physically and within their mental connection. With a gentle nudge he opened his mind further and she moved further into the empty spaces she had once filled. _I cannot say that I did not have days of despair. That there weren't moments where I wondered if you had moved on without me. But even without you there, without the bond in my mind, I still felt you. I closed my eyes and I could see you. All along one thought kept echoing through my mind._

Then they thought in unison, _I have to live._

This time both their smiles echoed through their bond and onto their faces.

"Okay you two, if you're going to have mind sex or something weird like that, can you please tell me so I can either get in on the action or go back on the TARDIS?" Jack broke the silence with his question, and the two Time Lords laughed as they broke their physical connection and eased off on the mental one, just happy to have the reemerging bond back in place.

Scarlett grinned. "Jack--you're still just as I remembered you. Sorry--just needed to set some things straight," Scarlett explained as she took the Doctor's hand, entwining their fingers and pulling him towards her living quarters. "Shall I show you two around? Brendan will be back soon. We take turns scouting out and scanning for life forms or technology elsewhere on the planet."

"Using what? And again, sorry to be persistent, but who is Brendan?" Jack asked as they walked towards the building.

"Using my sonic. And to finally answer your question, Brendan is a pilot whose ship crash landed here on Inet just over five years ago. He comes from New Earth. He has a wife and children there. He was on a long-range mission when he experienced engine failure," Scarlett explained. "I saved him from the wreckage and tended to his wounds. I saved his life, and in return he saved mine. Shortly after he arrived the water reclamation unit went down. We were able to use parts from the wreckage of his ship to repair it and make a few upgrades. Unfortunately, the communications device on the ship was damaged beyond repair and apparently whoever lived here before me took most everything with them when they left. Thankfully left the water reclamation system and the buildings."

As she continued, they stepped into the living quarters. The building had only one separate room, the bathroom which was in the far left corner. Otherwise, the bed, kitchen area, and dining area, were all part of a shared space. She watched as Jack and the Doctor looked around the room. "I live and sleep here, and Brendan sleeps in the laboratory building next door. It also serves as the medical ward and office. The only other buildings are the storage building out back and the greenhouse. They were all here when I found this place after two days of travel by foot from the crash site. We share our meals in here, taking turns cooking. No other living creatures that we've found on the planet, so it's all fruit, vegetables, legumes--I haven't had meat in over a twenty-five years."


	15. Inet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scarlett struggles with the idea of leaving her new 'home' to return to the TARDIS.

The Doctor turned his attention from his examination of the room back to his wife. He had been listening all along, but one particular thing she said had gotten his attention. "You called the planet 'Inet' – that's not what it's called on the maps."

"Of course not. But I had no idea what the planet was actually called. No maps to look at. So I named it, Inet." She paused a moment before explaining. "It's Teni backwards." Both the Doctor and Jack let out a small 'Oh!' before she continued. "Because this place has got to be the furthest opposite of my home planet as any place I've ever seen. Just lots and lots of sand. And this outpost. Unless there's civilization outside our walking distance."

"I don't know if this will be a relief or not, but no--there's no other lifeforms on the planet. Which is odd, because other than the presence of so much sand, it's a perfectly inhabitable planet--so why hasn't anyone tried to, I wonder? You seem to have done just fine," the Doctor considered thoughtfully before Jack interrupted.

"Hey Doc, I'm going to go outside and wait for Jacob and Donna--they should be here any moment. You two enjoy a few moments to yourself." Jack smiled before heading back outside.

After watching Jack leave, the Doctor turned back to Scarlett and smiled. "It's so good to see you--and feel you--again. Here." He pointed to his head. "And here." He lifted the hand he held and kissed her knuckles.

 She smiled and moved a step closer into his space as she responded, "Having you back in my mind and by my side. It feels as natural as it did all those years ago." Finally the two kissed, gently to begin as it felt almost like a first kiss again. When they stopped, they both smiled and leaned their foreheads together again.

Quiet followed and they found themselves enjoying a few moments of just holding each other close. The quiet was broken however by a sound that to Scarlett was vaguely similar to the TARDIS, well "Old Blue", but a little higher pitched and more--digital sounding.

"That would be Jacob, Donna, and Baby Red," the Doctor explained with a smile.

Scarlett grinned. "First time I've heard him in action. Has anyone told Jacob and Donna that Baby Red sounds a bit like a video game when he lands?"

The Doctor chuckled. "No, I don't believe so. But now that you mention it, I think you may be right. But when and where have you ever played 'video games'?"

"Torchwood Hub, with Jack and Ianto, on our off hours during the relief efforts after the Dalek attack."  Scarlett explained and the Doctor nodded and chuckled.

"Presumably, other than wanting to give us time alone, Jack will be explaining to Jacob and Donna what's transpired since we arrived--" the Doctor was still talking when they heard  the muffled voices, and then yelling from outside. They separated and watched the door in anticipation of the oncoming red-headed whirlwind.

"Twenty five years!?  What!? Where is she?? Scarlett!?" Donna shouted and they heard quickly approaching footsteps, then the door swung open.

"Oh thank God!" Donna gasped as she saw the other woman and ran up, practically tackling her in a hug. Jacob came in quickly behind her and joined in the reunion joy.

-*-*-

A half hour later they were sitting around the small table in Scarlett's little 'home.' She had given them a full tour of the buildings, including the green house--the building that most impressed them all. Scarlett had served them her own new blend of tea from some of the plants she had grown. She was in the middle of recounting some of the last twenty five years when she was interrupted by yelling outside.

"Scarlett! Scarlett! It's the blue box! The TARDIS! It's here! Your Doctor, he's here!" The man's voice got closer and closer till finally the door flew open and Brendan came running in, sliding to a halt. "Well I can't believe it! Look at this! You--" He came over to the Doctor as all five stood from the table. "You are the Doctor – you look precisely as Scarlett described! Down to the brown pinstripe suit!" Brendan shook the Doctor's hand excitedly as he spoke, then turned to Jacob. "And that means this is your brother, Jacob. Pleasure to meet you sir! And there's no mistaking that red haired beauty! Donna Noble, what a pleasure to meet you!" Brendan paused a minute as he got to Jack. "Hmm, wait--it's coming to me--Jack! Jack Harkness, right? She told me you all would find her! She said you'd come!"

"Blimey!" Jacob exclaimed as he looked at the exuberant man in front of him. "You look just like--"

"Her brother! I know, crazy right? But we're fairly certain there's no relation." Brendan said with a grin.

The Doctor simply smiled. She had been stuck on the planet for the last five years with a man that looked exactly like her brother. He really didn't have anything to worry about.

-*-*-

After dinner that evening, all six sat around a firepit a safe distance away from the buildings.

"I never thought about a desert getting this cool in the evenings," Donna remarked.

"Speaking of this lovely desert--you about ready to get away from here, Scarlett?" Jacob asked his sister-in-law.

The Doctor felt Scarlett tense up from where she sat, gently reclined against him. He thought it might be good to intervene, so they could talk privately. He glanced at his brother, sending a thought his way before turning his attention to his wife. "Scarlett, would you mind taking me back through the greenhouse? I'm interested in seeing the different vegetation you've grown there. I noticed when we first looked around that I didn't recognize all the varieties."

She smiled in relief. "Of course." They both got to their feet and brushed the sand from their trousers. "Brendan, why don't you tell our friends a little more about what you were doing out in the middle of nowhere when your ship's engine failed?"

As the Doctor and Scarlett started to walk away, they heard Brendan launch into another story. He had enjoyed entertaining his new friends with all manner of tales about his wife and children, his job for the New Earth government, and his time on Inet with Scarlett.

"Thank you," Scarlett said quietly once they were out of earshot, as she slipped her hand around her husbands. "Three months for you of being away from me and you haven't lost your touch, detecting when I'm a bit nervous about something."

"Yes." He smiled warmly at her. "So, do you want to talk about it?"

"Let's get to the greenhouse first. It's the closest thing to the Teni gardens that I have here," she responded. A few minutes later they walked back into the greenhouse and she led him down one of the aisles of plants. "It's silly for me to be nervous to get back on the TARDIS, isn't it? It isn't that I can't wait to be back on the Old Girl and get away from all this sand. But--" She searched for the words to explain her feelings, and the Doctor waited patiently for her to continue. Finally, she thought of something. "You know those stories about the prisoner who spent so many years sleeping on a hard bed that when he was released, he ended up sleeping on the floor at first because the bed was too soft?"

"Well," the Doctor said with a small smile. "I can always ask the Old Girl to stiffen up the bed for you if that helps."

Scarlett smiled back. "You know that's not what I meant. It's just a story, but it's the best I can do to explain this sense of--dread? Anxiety? I don't know what to call it."

"Ooh, or I could have her fill the floor up with a few inches of sand, make you feel more at home in our quarters," he said with a smirk and playful excitement.

"Oh, really? Going to play it like that, are you?" She playfully elbowed him in the ribs and they both chuckled.

"Seriously though--we can take as much time as you need. And when you're ready--we'll go wherever and whenever you want to go and do whatever it is you want to do. It's the least I can do--"

"It's not your fault, you know. You do know, that right?" she asked as she stopped and turned to face him. "None of this. Not the explosion on that ship. Not my injury. Not me getting left behind. And not me being stuck here for so long. I know you always want to blame yourself when something goes wrong around you. But I'm not letting you. I don't blame you."

"Alright," he said slowly. "But it doesn't mean I can't still make it up to you."

She nodded in agreement and smiled. "Deal." After another moment of thought, she continued. "I promise I won't keep us here long. Maybe just till tomorrow. We'll harvest the last of the food we can from the greenhouse, so it doesn't go to waste. We can keep it on the TARDIS. That'll be nice, fresh fruits and vegetables held in stasis. Might make the transition a bit easier." She thought for a moment before hesitantly continuing. "Will you--" she started to ask a question, but stopped mid-thought.

"Will I what?" he asked, his brow furrowing a bit in concern.

"Will you--stay--with me? Here? In my quarters?" she quietly questioned as she looked down at their intertwined fingers, suddenly unable to look him in the eyes.

He squeezed the hand he held and used his free one to lift her chin gently, making her look at him. "Do you think for a moment that I'm letting you out of my sight? You're going to find it very hard to get me out of reach--I might not even let go of you--for a long, long time. Well, okay, I'll let you go to the loo on your own. But that's it." He grinned as he finished.


	16. Harvest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One last harvest on Inet before the TARDIS family makes their way back into the vortex.

The next day, the Doctor found himself on his knees, suit jacket left behind in Scarlett's Inet home, sleeves rolled up, hands digging into the dirt to pull up potatoes and other root vegetables. "It's been a long time since I did any real gardening. We should set up a greenhouse on Old Blue. She'd love it."

"How does the Old Girl feel about her new name?" Scarlett asked from across the row as she picked tomatoes and some other similar alien fruit.

"She seems to not mind. But she always did like expressing herself to you more than me. She might give you an earful when you get back. I think she enjoys having Baby Red as something of an apprentice. She seems to be more accurate in her landings than ever before. I think she's showing off." He rambled on till he realized Scarlett had stopped what she was doing and was watching him.  "What?"

"Oh, nothing. Just enjoying the sight of you and the sound of your voice," she answered.

"Hey, don't go blowing up his ego--he already enjoys the sound of his own voice too much. If someone else admits to liking it, we'll never hear him shut up," Donna chimed in from several rows over where she picked berries from vines.

"Where have Jacob, Jack, and Brendan gotten off to?" Scarlett asked the other woman.

"Oh, Jack and Jacob are introducing Brendan to the TARDISes. Quite the experience that will be, I'm sure." Donna explained.

Scarlett's eyebrows raised, and she looked back at the Doctor. "You're letting someone else show off your TARDIS?"

The Doctor shrugged, "I told you--not letting you out of my sight. Besides, it's Jacob's turn to show off his own ship for the first time. And he can handle Old Blue, as well."

-*-*-

Scarlett took her time making the ascent up the high sand dune that the TARDISes sat atop. Once she made it to the top she turned and examined her once-home. "Well, you treated me alright all these years, but I can't say that I'll miss you," she said towards the buildings, before turning her attention back to the blue Police Box that awaited her. It's pilot, her husband, stood in the doorway, leaned against the door jam, waiting for her.

"Ready to go?" he asked with a gentle smile and an outstretched hand.

"Yes. Ready." She nodded and accepted his hand as they stepped up into the ship. The cloister bell rang once, not in alarm, but in welcome, and the lights dimmed momentarily in welcome as she felt a warmth wash over her. "I missed you too, Old Girl," Scarlett whispered as she traced her hand along the railing that led up the ramp and onto the main control room floor.

She smiled as she looked around the console to find Jack, Brendan, Donna, and Jacob all smiling back at her.

"Welcome home, Scarlett." Jacob said with a smile.

"Yes, welcome home." Donna smile and came over to give her friend a hug.

"So, the ships are docked together. Where to first, Scarlett?" the Doctor asked.

"New Earth. Brendan can give you the coordinates. We need to get him back to his wife and children. First priority." She said with a smile and nod to her newest friend.

"It's been five years! I can't wait to see my little ones again! I wonder what's happened in the last five years?" Brendan asked in excitement.

"You won't have to find that out. I won't have your children waiting that long. How long had you been away on your mission?" Scarlett asked, determined not to have the man's young children wondering for years about their fathers' fate.

"I'd been gone about three weeks on the mission when I crash landed on Inet." Brendan answered.

"We've got to make sure we don't show up before the incident. Scarlett, how long ago did he crash land on the planet?" the Doctor asked.

"Five years, three months, two days--should I keep going?" Scarlett grinned.

Brendan shook his head. "That never stops being impressive to me. That internal chronometer."

"It's the gift--or curse, as the case may be--of a Time Lord. Constant awareness of the passage of time," Jacob explained.

"Alright then, we'll go for Five years, four months, one week. That should only be a few weeks after the crash. But we're going to check the local news reports before we do anything to be sure we don't cause any damage to the proper course of events." The Doctor explained, mainly for Brendan's benefit.

"How do you know what the 'proper course of events' is?" Brendan asked.

"Sometimes," Scarlett began to explain. "Time Lords can just sense when something is a fixed point. Sometimes it's almost visual--like when someone says they can see your aura. Sometimes the TARDIS keeps us out of danger of interfering with fixed points in time." She paused and glanced at the Doctor. "Sometimes, we decide."

"If you don't crash land on that planet, Scarlett loses the water reclamation tower and has no means to repair it. She wouldn't have survived more than a few weeks with the water she had stored, much less five more years. Just like if I had gone back and saved her twenty five years ago, just after her crash landing--and you had crashed on the planet five years ago – she wouldn't have been there to save you."

"Things get complicated for you lot, don't they?" Brendan asked as he looked around at the four Time Lords.

"There's a lot of time and a lot of space to travel, it usually doesn't get this complicated." Scarlett said with a smile.

"Well, I'll trust you all not to mess things up--just get me back to my family!" Brendan said happily.

-*-*-


	17. Recollection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After twenty five years, Scarlett has to ease herself back into things on the TARDIS--with the Doctor's help.

Several hours later the Time Lord family and Jack had enjoyed a meal with Brendan and his family, having helped the man in explaining to his employers (the New Earth government) and to his family the situation. New Earth was familiar enough with the Doctor, so it wasn't as difficult as it could have been.

As the five filed back into Old Blue, the Doctor turned, backstepping towards the console as he spoke. "Alright, my wife, first task accomplished. Where to now?"

Scarlett approached him and wrapped her arms around his middle as he leaned against the console.  She took a deep breath, having held herself together long enough to get Brendan home, she felt a weariness in her body and soul starting to overcome her. "Take me home, Spaceman," she said quietly, but confident in her choice of destination. "Wait. I almost forgot." She turned and looked at the man in the long trenchcoat. "Jack, we should get you home, first."

Jack shook his head. "No, ma'am. I still consider it a part of my duty to see that you and your hubby here are well recovered before I go too far. If you don't mind, I'd love to go to Teni with you. Check on some old friends and see how they're doing."

Scarlett smiled. "Of course, Jack. You are always welcome on Teni. And on the TARDIS, right Doctor?" she said as she turned back to her husband.

"Of course. Teni, it is, then." The Doctor nodded, but looked thoughtfully at his wife. "The Citadel first, or the island? Your brother wanted to know as soon as we found you or any sign of you, and I've neglected to contact him."

"The island. I'll call him on the way and explain," Scarlett provided her answer and gave him a quick kiss. She stepped away and started to head off to their quarters. She made it to the entrance to the hallway and paused a moment, looking down the hall with trepidation before she continued.

Donna and Jacob looked at each other, then the Doctor, and Donna asked, "Has she been back to your quarters since she came back on board?"

"No," the Doctor answered while still staring off towards the hallway.

"Then I suggest you get your rear in gear, Spaceman, and go to her. She's already overwhelmed enough," Donna encouraged her friend.

The Doctor glanced at them, and Jacob motioned his head towards the hall as well. "Go, I'll get us on our way to Teni."

It was all the Doctor needed to hear to launch himself into motion towards the hallway. It wasn't a long walk to get to their quarters, as the Old Girl always kept the bedrooms close to the control room for convenience. Because of that, he hadn't made it far before he skidded to a halt, finding his wife standing in front of their door, tracing the Gallifreyan symbols on the door with her finger.

"I'd forgotten how beautiful this door is," she whispered.

He came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, looking over her shoulder at the door. "Hmm, are you sure? You don't forget the details, usually."

She sighed in response, then added, "Just a bit nervous, I guess."

"I guessed as much. Jacob is taking care of the piloting. Shall we go in together?" the Doctor said quietly by her ear.

"How did you know this was going to be difficult?" she asked as she continued to stare at the door.

"You've been gone twenty-five years." He flinched inwardly as the thought still pained him of his wife waiting for him for that long. "It's okay to be anxious about being back."

She turned in his arms. "It's not you I'm anxious about. And it's not the TARDIS. It's not our quarters, or--us. I'm not anxious about any of that. I'm still the same person, and nothing has changed about the way I feel or how happy I am to be back. It just feels so--odd. I feel like a different person that I was when I was last here. And to know it was only three months ago for you--it just feels--odd."

"Do you remember when I found you again? When the planets had disappeared? It had been three months for you then," he reminded her.

"And three years for you," she remembered.

"You may have me beat on the number of years you had to wait, and it pains me to know that--but, I have a small idea of that odd feeling--knowing it wasn't as long for the other person." He paused and looked at her. I have an idea. Do you trust me?"

"Of course," she stated simply, but a bit nervously.

"Close your eyes," he gently requested, and her eyebrow perked up. "C'mon, you said you trusted me. Close your eyes." She nodded and did as he asked. He gently guided her to turn back around towards the door. She heard the handle turn and click as the door opened then she felt him move to stand in front of her and his hands took hers. "I'll guide you every step of the way," he said as he pulled her a few steps into the room. "Now, tell me what you notice."

"First, the smell. It's your shower gel. You get it from Earth every time we go back," she said with a grin.

"You always have had a good nose," he said with a grin. She couldn't see it, but she could hear it in his voice, and feel it through their connection. "It's been two days since I took a shower here and you still smell it coming from the bathroom. What else?"

"The sound of the TARDIS. It sounds different here than anywhere else." She paused and listened a few moments, a gentle smile on her lips. "I missed that sound. It used to lull me to sleep, that and the sound of your heartbeats, and your breathing as it slowed as you fell to sleep. The combination could lull me to sleep in a heartbeat."

"Now, from where we are, what's to the right?" he asked.

"You haven't redecorated, have you?" she asked with a smirk.

He chuckled. "Oh no, haven't moved a single thing, I promise."

"Then let's see," she thought a moment. "On the wall to our right is our family portrait--with Donna and Jacob. Taken the day we were married," as she spoke, he moved her to stand in front of that wall, facing it as if she could see it. When she was done, he turned her back around facing the same direction they were when they entered.

"And now? To your right?" he asked again.

"The walk-in wardrobe, on the right wall. To its left is the en suite." she answered as he continued to walk her around the room.

"Go ahead, keep describing as we walk," he said quietly.

"To the left of that is my dressing table," she pointed as she spoke.

"Describe what is on the dressing table," he requested.

"A small framed picture of us taken on Earth. My hair brush, the perfume you bought me when we went back to Shen Shen so Donna could have a proper visit without the fright. In the drawer are my journal and a few pieces of jewelry," she slowly described and pointed to various places on the table.

He moved them further on in the room and she continued, "Now we're to the far wall and the sitting area. Since I don't hear water you have it turned to the fireplace. A handy idea that was, the TARDIS--the Old Girl--installing a rotating wall with my water fountain and your fireplace. It's going to take time getting used to her not being the only TARDIS," she interjected into her own train of thought. "Anyway--it was a brilliant idea."

"I couldn't bear to hear the water without you here," he said quietly, his voice a bit shaky. "And I hardly spent any time here--just to change clothes and shower. I slept in the library on the sofa most of the time, when Donna made me sleep. I tried to sleep here one night and I couldn't, without you."

"You've slept on a sofa for three months? And I thought my single bed was bad," she said with a giggle.

"Yes, I squeezed onto that single bed with you last night, if you remember. I agree, the sofa is much more comfortable," he said with a nod.

"I remember. Thank you--for being so patient," she squeezed his hand as she spoke quietly.

His only response was to gently squeeze her hand in return. "Now, where were we? Continue on, please."

"The doorway to our private study is there," she said, a pointed finger directing his gaze for a moment. "And now we're to the left-hand wall. The bed sits in the middle. A landscape portrait of Teni hangs on the right side of the bed, my side. A small side table, and if not moved, my copy of Jane Eyre should still be there. And a small framed pencil sketch of you. Drawn by that artist in New York City. The original New York City. You have a matching one of me on your bedside table. And above your table is a landscape portrait of Gallifrey. And you were reading Macbeth, I believe, original copy gifted to you by Shakespeare himself."

"And the bed?" he said as he stood her in the middle of the room, just at the foot of the bed.

She smiled and took a moment. When she thought of the bed it was hard to not think of the memories that went along with it. She felt him rub his thumb along her knuckles as memories flashed through her mind. She took a deep breath and cleared her throat. "A large trunk sits at the end of the bed. With a quilt folded over it that was gifted to us by Donna's mother. It was made by her grandmother. Donna and Jacob have a matching one. The bed has four tall corner posts. Curtains of a mix of deep purple and blue hang from the cross posts, tied at the corner posts. The bedding is deep blue, with a few purple pillows. The old Girl worked hard to make us both happy," she smiled.

"You're brilliant," he said with a smile. "That magnificent mind of yours. You recalled every detail of how the room looks.  Now," he said, then paused and stepped very close to her. She could feel his breath on her ear as he whispered, "How does the room make you feel?"

She took a deep breath in and leaned against him, moving to rest her head on his shoulder as he moved to embrace her. "Safe. It makes me feel safe."

She felt him nod, then he whispered again, "Are you ready, now?"

She nodded in return and stepped back out of his embrace, opening her eyes.

The lights were already dimmed so her eyes didn't have to adjust. She spun slowly as she looked around the room to find it precisely how she had recalled, down to every detail she remembered. She smiled as she came back around to where her husband stood. "Thank you."

He smiled back as he took her back into his embrace. "You're welcome."

-*-*-

 


	18. Serenity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The TARDIS Family goes home.

Twenty eight minutes later, Scarlett and the Doctor held hands as they walked back into the control room. Donna was sitting sideways in her chair, legs dangling over the arm, reading a book. She looked up when they entered. "Ah, there's the lovebirds. Settled back in, Scarlett?"

Scarlett smiled to her friend. "Yes, happily so, thank you, Donna."

"Did you get to talk to Balen?" Jacob asked from the console where he stood.

Scarlett nodded as she sat in her pilot seat. "Yes, he was happy to hear from me, but annoyed I wasn't coming straight to the Citadel to see him."

Donna turned in her seat and sat her book in the smaller jump seat to her left. She crossed her arms and raised her eyebrow as she spoke, "And did you tell him where he could stuff it?"

Scarlett snickered. "In a manner of speaking, yes." She looked to Jack and continued, "A transport will be waiting at the island for you, Jack, to take you back to the mainland. From there, I presume you can find your way."

"Yes, ma'am." He saluted with a grin and she rolled her eyes playfully.

"Well I for one cannot wait to take a dip in the oceans of Teni." Donna smiled as she thought of their island home, then a small frown appeared. "Still sand there, though."

"Yes, well, at least the sand there leads to the water!" the Doctor exclaimed. "Ready to land?" he questioned Scarlett.

"More than ready." She said with a smile and with a wide grin and a nod the Doctor pulled the lever to materialize the joined TARDISes.

-*-*-

The Island of Serenity, they had named it after first setting foot on the island when they returned from their post-marriage honeymoon. It had been a wedding gift from Balen to his sister, and as he put it, a gift from all the people of Teni. By the time they had arrived on the island that first time, two homes had been built to their specifications just off the beach of the small island. Other than the beach, the only other main feature of the island was the tropical forest that covered the center. If one stood on the beach, the land mass was small enough you could see both ends.

Over the first twenty years of their adventures together, they had come back to this place at least once a year, sometimes more, depending on the difficulty of their travels. It was a place of respite for all of them. To Donna, it was the perfect beach vacation, to the Doctor and Jacob, though a drastically different landscape than Gallifrey, it was as close to a 'home' as they'd get, being surrounded by a planet of people so closely related to their own. They could feel the underlying telepathic connection of all the beings around them.

Now, Donna, Jacob, and the Doctor sat in their lounge chairs, looking out at the small dot in the ocean.

"It never ceases to amaze me how great a swimmer she is. I mean, it makes sense--she did grow up on a planet surrounded by water--but still. How long is she going to float out there?" Donna asked.

The Doctor furrowed his eyebrows as he watched, a small sigh escaping him. "She said until she feels like all the sand has washed off."

"That might be a while, Spaceman," Donna considered. "Perhaps not literally--but she's going to feel that sand for a long time."

The Doctor nodded quietly in response as he watched his wife's body float along with the gentle waves of the ocean. If he couldn't feel her contented presence in his mind, he'd be worried by how still she was. As it was, he nudged at her mind and received back a simple feeling of peace. "Being here is good for her," he finally spoke aloud.

"Then we'll stay as long as we need to," said Jacob.

The Doctor turned to look at his brother and Donna. "Thank you. You could go--can go--anytime you want, now that you have Red. But I'm thankful you are here. I think it's good for all of us to be together--here--for her, right now."

"Of course, Spaceman," Donna smiled, her eyes closed as she enjoyed the sunbathing.

The Doctor watched closely as he saw Scarlett leave her prone floating position and upright herself in the water, then begin to swim back towards the shore. Soon she was walking up out of the water onto the beach in front of them.

"Feeling better?" Jacob asked his sister-in-law.

"Much better. Dinner should be here soon, Balen is having it flown in from the Citadel. Prepared by Rual. He's also sending over supplies, so we only need to leave if we absolutely want to."

Donna grinned. "Oh, the perks of having royalty for family."

"Are you referring to the private island, Donna? Or to having dinner catered by the royal chefs and flown in?" the Doctor asked with a smile towards his best friend.

"Both. Definitely both. I never would have imagined I'd be living such a posh life," Donna answered.

Jacob considered his wife's comment a moment, then asked, "Does it make up for the in between bits: running away from monsters and aliens, chasing monsters and aliens, escaping prison?"

"Oh the in between bits are the exciting fun parts. They're the parts I signed up for. This is just the icing on the cake. I didn't even dream of this when I agreed to travel with the Doctor all those years ago."

-*-*-

Later the couples carried their meal down to the pier that extended out into the ocean. At the end of the pier was a gazebo with a large outdoor dinner table situated under it.

As they sat, enjoying the delicious meal they had been brought, it was noticeable to all that Scarlett was being quiet. They had almost completed their meal, when after taking a sip of water, she finally spoke up. "Doctor, I was wondering if you'd like to go out with me on the sailboat for some night sailing after dinner?"

The Doctor's face brightened with a wide smile. "Of course, my love. That sounds delightful."

"Donna and I are going to go collect a few coconuts from the trees inland. You'll be out late. We'll see you in the morning, then," Jacob said as Donna nodded in agreement.

-*-*-

_"Hold Me" by The Sweeplings_

The Doctor took care of the guiding and controlling the sailboat like an expert while Scarlett watched from her reclined position on the pillow covered seating area. She had taught him very early in their visits to Teni the mechanics of running a sailboat and he picked up on it quickly.

She smiled as she watched her husband. "You've been a natural at sailing from the first time I showed you how to raise the sails."

As he tied off a line, he smiled. "It isn't all together too different from piloting the TARDIS through the Vortex. You don't control the Vortex, and you can't control the wind or the water. All you can do is control and guide your ship through it to your destination."

"That's a rather brilliant comparison and it makes flying the TARDIS make a lot more sense when you explain it that way. At least to someone who already has learned to sail first," Scarlett said as she crossed her arms behind her head and enjoyed the last of the sun's warmth before it started to set.

The Doctor watched her as he sailed them away from the island and into open waters. He found a calm spot and prepared the boat to drift for a while so that he could join her. Soon he was by her side and she moved to recline herself against him, head on his shoulder with his arm wrapped around behind her. He moved his other arm up behind his head as he reclined on the pile of pillows.

They lay in silence watching as the sky changed colors with the setting of the sun. After a while she spoke up, "Like a ship with no sail--"

"Hmm?" he asked, unsure about her train of thought.

"When the tail end of the ship was jettisoned into the vortex. It was like a ship with no sail in the middle of a windy, stormy sea," she explained.

He nodded slowly. She was still thinking about it, all this time later. "How bad was it?" he asked. He had so many questions, but restrained himself in order to give her time to answer them when she was ready.

"Not nearly as bad as it could have been. I was so, so lucky," she said.

It wasn't as much of an answer as he had hoped for, but it was enough for now. "I'm glad," he said as he pulled her a little closer.

They were quiet again for a while. The Doctor waited for her to guide the conversation. She had asked him to be here, and he would let her talk or not talk, whatever she needed.

"Thank you--" she said, pausing a moment before continuing, "For bringing me to Teni. I know Old Blue is your home, but being back here is--"

"Old Blue isn't my home," he said, feeling the need to interrupt and correct her.

"What? She'd be a bit miffed to hear that." she asked, confused.

"She is well aware--Home is wherever you are. If that's on our TARDIS, or here, or--wherever. I'm home when I'm with you," he explained. "But you are welcome. I love it here, too." A few minutes of silence later, he spoke again. "The water, it helps you find peace, doesn't it?"

She nodded. "It always has. When I was a child, I always ran to the water to hideaway when I was upset. As queen, when something troubled me, I'd either go to the garden or to the water."

"Explains why you always love using the pool on the TARDIS--I mean, Old Blue, so much," he said.

"Can we just agree to call it 'the TARDIS' when you and I are talking about the Old Girl? It'd be so much easier than having to remember to call her 'Old Blue' or 'Old Girl.' Even Donna and Jacob struggle with it," said Scarlett.

"She was the only TARDIS for so long, it is a bit difficult to get the hang of," the Doctor agreed.

The sky had turned shades of orange and pink while they talked. After a moment of consideration, Scarlett started to shift and turned in the Doctor's arms and scooted her body up so that her forearms rested on his chest and she was sitting up enough to look at him. "You want me to tell you about what happened on Inet, don't you?"

He stared at her a moment, deciding to meet honest question with honest answer. "Yes. I want to know everything. It's difficult knowing you spent twenty-five years without me. You weren't just lonely, you were truly alone for most of that time. To know I missed twenty-five years of your life--that I didn't experience those years by your side--it's hard. I want to know what you felt, what you experienced, the challenges, the successes. The moments that made you laugh, the ones that made you cry. I want to know about it all," he answered, then clarified further, "But I don't want to rush you. I know it's difficult for you. I can wait as long as it takes you to feel comfortable with sharing."

She considered him a moment before nodding. "It isn't that I don't want to explain it. It's that it's hard to find the words. I spent twenty years barely speaking out loud. Until Brendan showed up I occasionally talked to myself, or, you know--" she smirked as she continued, "the occasional inanimate object. But for the most part, I was in my head, thinking all the time. When Brendan got there, and I had someone to speak to--but even then, I had grown accustom to not talking. If it weren't for the fact that he enjoyed talking, and hearing himself talk, I think, I would have never opened back up at all."

The Doctor shrugged. "That makes sense."

"What I'm trying to say is--perhaps instead of waiting to find the words--I can just--show you," she said slowly.

Her husband smiled and moved his hand to stroke her cheek. "That's a brilliant idea. You sure you're ready to share it?"

She nodded hopefully. "I want so much to be able to. I want you to know about the last twenty-five years as much as you want to know about it. I feel like it's one of the last things keeping our bond from totally healing--do you feel it too?"

"I wasn't sure if it was just me that felt like things weren't quite back to normal," he confessed quietly, hand still cupping her cheek, but eyes downcast.

"Why didn't you say something?" she asked, adjusting her position so that she could rest her palm on his cheek as well.

"You've had enough burdens on you, you don't need my own worries and insecurities on top of that," he said through a furrowed brow of self-frustration.

"Oh? Is that what marriage is about? Hiding our worries from each other and attempting to fix them all by ourselves?" she said with a slight quirk to her mouth and raise of her eyebrow, sending him a wave of reassurance, love, and a dash of humor through their link.

"No. No, I suppose it's not," he replied with a small smile, then sighed, stroking her cheek again. "You've been through so much."

"Twenty-five years in the desert without our bond or a living soul, for most of that, wasn't a piece of cake, I'll give you that. But you were living without the bond as well. It wasn't easy for you, either," she reasoned.

He started to argue, "Perhaps, but--"

"This isn't a competition, Doctor," she interrupted him sternly. "We don't have to compare pain and suffering to see whose was worse. We just need to help each other heal. Does that sound reasonable?" He nodded his head in agreement. "Do you want to do this here, or back at the house?" she asked, regarding the memory transference.

"Here. Now. The water will help you focus," he said as he sat up a bit.

She nodded and sat up as well, shifting so that she was sitting with her legs under her, weight resting on her ankles. "Alright, relax, close your eyes. Twenty-five years of memories is a lot to share."

He closed his eyes and felt her hands go to his temples.

 


	19. Re-Bonded

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Doctor and Scarlett are healed.

It was rare for a Time Lord to lose track of time, but as Scarlett shared the memories with the Doctor they both did just that. When she finished 'telling' him the story of her last twenty five years, recounting every memory she could recall herself, they both opened their eyes and now saw each other by the light of the moons of Teni, and found the other with tears rolling down their cheeks. But they weren't tears of sadness, or of of pain--they were happiness--because despite all she had been through to survive the past twenty five years, she had done just that--she had survived, and they had been reunited. They stared at each other a moment before Scarlett held her hand out behind her. Slowly the anchor floated up out of the boat and dropped into the water.

"I see your telekinesis is just as good as it ever was," he said quietly with a small grin on his face.

"With no one around to question it, I used it quite a bit for the first twenty years. When Brendan came around I used it a little less till he became accustom to it."

They grew quiet again, staring into each other's eyes contentedly, listening to the sound of the water lapping against the boat, then she leaned in closer and she could feel his breath as she whispered in his ear. "I've missed you."

Then, they kissed. With their missing memories of each other's time--her twenty five years and his three months--now restored to each other, the last restrictions on their mental bond disappeared. With that healing, Scarlett felt the last of her fears slip away as she reached for the top button of his shirt. His hand stilled hers and her gaze went back to his eyes.

_Are you sure?_ he spoke in her mind _._ There was no need to speak out loud and it felt so good to have her back in his mind that he couldn't resist using their own private link.

_I am absolutely certain._ she responded before capturing him in another kiss that distracted him from mental conversation.

*-*-*

They returned to the shoreline several hours later as pink just started to show at the edge of the skyline, signaling that the sun would soon be rising. While the Doctor had learned how to literally handle the sails, Scarlett impressed him further by using her telekinetic skills to sail the ship back so that they didn't have to leave each others arms. He had gotten much better with his own telekinesis, thanks to her training, but she would always remain the superior in that arena.

After docking the boat they made their way quietly back to their home.

Later that morning the Doctor awoke to find the other side of the bed empty. He frowned only a moment before a smile crossed his face again as a voice spoke into his head.

_Good morning, sleepy head_.

He grinned. _Good morning. Where are you?_ He started using the bond to try and determine her physical proximity, but she answered before he needed to.

_Just out on the porch enjoying the view and eating breakfast. You haven't slept that late since..._

_Since our honeymoon, yes..._ he finished her thought and smirked as he sat up on the edge of the bed and stretched. _I'm famished. I'll be out in a tic._

_*-*-*_

Scarlett was enjoying a bowl of cut up fresh fruit when the Doctor stepped out onto the porch. She grinned when she saw he was still in his pajama pants and t-shirt. She loved it when he allowed himself to relax and assumed it might be the first time he'd been out of his suit in three months.

"Good morning, again." She said aloud with a smile.

"It is, isn't it? Would have been better had I not woken up alone in bed," he said with a fake pout.

"We've plenty of time for that. I was hungry and you showed no signs of waking up anytime soon."

"Well, here I am now," he said as he leaned over and kissed her, nabbing a piece of fruit as he did so.

"Hey!" she said playfully and he grinned and plopped down in the seat beside her.

"So," he said between chewing. "What would you like to do today, my Queen?"

Her eyebrow perked up and she frowned. "I don't miss that title."

"I'll try again," he said and leaned over, kissing her again, "What would you like to do today, my love?"

She grinned then. "Much better." She then turned and looked out at the ocean. "I'm feeling so much better now that our bond is fully healed. I was thinking maybe we should head over to the mainland and visit my brother at the Citadel."

"You're ready for that?" he said with a look of concern.

"I really do think I am. Seriously, sharing all the memories with you last night and... everything else... I barely feel the scarring anymore."

She was referring to the mental scarring they had both felt from being ripped from each other. He understood because he felt the same healing and restoration. But it had been a longer time for her than him and he worried that she was rushing herself.

She looked over at him with a firm stare. "I am _not_ rushing myself. And it's not as if I'm running back into a room full of Daleks. It's my brother at the Citadel."

He relented. "Alright, but I'm coming with you. Still not going to let you out of my sight, even if the bond is healed."

"I never said I was letting you leave my sight either. But that's more to do with your gorgeous good looks than anything," she said with a grin that made him blush.

"Woman, you are incorrigible."

At that moment, Jacob and Donna approached hand-in-hand. "Oh, is she now? She must be feeling better, then," Jacob called out with a grin.

"She is feeling better, thank you," Scarlett answered before greeting them properly, "Good morning you two. Care for some fruit? The Doctor has been stealing from me, but I have a whole platter full in the kitchen.

"That sounds lovely, thanks," Donna said as she leaned over to give her friend a hug. "Can I come and help you?"

"Sure," Scarlett said as she hopped up from her seat and kissed her husband on the cheek before going into the house with Donna.

"Sooo...." Donna said slowly after they had made it into the kitchen, as she watched Scarlett retrieve the large bowl and some smaller ones.

"So what?"

"So, how are things?"

Scarlett smirked. She knew what Donna was getting at. "Things are... lovely," she said, a blush rising in her cheeks.

"Oooh, that's good," the red-head said with a twinkle in her eye. "How are you feeling?"

"Really great." She looked up to see her friend eying her speculatively. "Really! I am! Why does no one believe me?"

"Because you spent twenty years alone on a planet, and then five with a man who was like a really chatty version of your brother," Donna said the last part with a grin.

"Yes, but Donna, remember, I'm 280 years old. Not that I'd want to go back and repeat that twenty-five years, but it's not quite as drastic as it would have been for a human whose life span is under four times that."

Donna nodded, relenting to that fact. "Okay, I suppose."

"So, the Doctor and I will be going to the Citadel today. Would you and Jacob like to join us?"

Scarlett could tell from Donna's expression that she was considering questioning the woman's choice to go to the Citadel so soon. Thankfully, she chose not to do so. Instead she nodded. "Sure, that sounds great."

Scarlett stopped before responding as she felt a wave of curiosity coming from the Doctor. _What is it, love?_

_Jack just arrived on a transport, and he brought someone with him._

<<<<>>>> 


	20. Jack

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack shows up at the TARDIS Family's Teni island with a surprise guest.

_Jack just arrived on a transport, and he brought someone with him,_ he explained, broadcasting the thought to Donna as well. Both women looked at each other with a raised eyebrow and Donna motioned with her head towards the door. She grabbed the empty bowls and utensils and Scarlett brought along the large platter of fruit and a large serving spoon.

They carried them out and set them on the table before Scarlett looked out towards the dock where Jack was approaching with a female. She gasped and before another word was spoken started running towards them. "Jana!" she shouted.

Jana about the same age as Scarlett, give or take a year or two, or now twenty five or so, and she had served in the Royal Guard for as long as Scarlett had been Queen. When Scarlett stepped down, Jana continued to serve a few more years before deciding it was time to move on as well and had begun working in private security. Jana had been Scarlett's most trusted private guard and the closest thing to a friend Scarlett felt she had, other than her brother, before her TARDIS family came along.

Scarlett made it to the dock just as Jack and Jana stepped off it onto solid ground. Scarlett quickly embraced the woman as Jack watched with a smile. "Jana, it is so good to see you!"

"My Queen," Jana said with a smile as she embraced the woman then stepped back.

 Scarlett kept her hands on the womans arms and gave a gentle squeeze. "Jana, you really must stop calling me that. Please, Jana, call me by my given name."

Jana nodded meekly, "Very well...Scarlett." She then glanced to Jack and back to Scarlett, a bit shyly. "Jack and I ran into each other last night and... well he told me all about what you've been through. I hope it's alright that I asked to come along with him."

"Alright?" Scarlett grinned. "Of course it's alright! Please, come join us, we were just having some fruit for breakfast. I know it's not the hearty breakfast many are used to, but I've spent twenty five years eating only things I could grow, I'm not quite ready to add anything else to my diet yet."

"Fruit sounds wonderful," Jack said, happy he could provide Scarlett with such a good surprise...and happy to spend more time with Jana.

*-*-*

A little while later Scarlett and Jana were gone on a walk on the beach so that Scarlett could tell her about what had occurred over the past three of their months and twenty-five of hers. After she was sure the former queen and her former guard were out of hearing range, Donna turned on Jack. " _You_ and _Jana_? Really!?"

Jack feigned innocence as long as possible. "What are you talking about? I just brought her here so she could catch up with Scarlett!"

"Oh, come on, Mr. Eternal, you are _not_ pulling one over on me! I saw the way you were looking at her! And the fact that you are _denying_ it instead of outright bragging about it means that something _really_ is up."

Jack sighed. He knew he wasn't going to be able to keep this on the down low. "Look, I--when we were here for the restoration efforts, Jana spent her time when she wasn't on shift at the Citadel out trying to help in the city with restoration. She hardly slept because she was determined to do more than just stand around the Citadel while her people suffered. We ended up on the same projects and same rotations quite often. She's passionate about her people and this planet. She's a hard worker, not afraid to get her hands dirty when necessary. She's fiercely loyal to Scarlett. She's one of the most...steady...persons I've ever met... And last night I went out to a bar and low and behold there she sat. Jana Reen just sitting there at the bar alone. So, we caught up."

"Oh. My. God. You fell in love with her over ten years ago?"

"Who said anything about love? I was..."

"I know what you _were_ Jack, and what you _are_. No one is forgetting about Ianto. But that doesn't change that you felt...you _feel_ something for her," Donna persisted. Jacob and the Doctor remained quiet, fairly certain Donna was going to see this through till she got what she wanted out of Jack Harkness.

"Look, she's remarkable, alright? Yes, I think she's...remarkable. But, I'm...I'm not..."

Finally the Doctor spoke up. "Jack, I've never seen you this flustered about anyone before."

"Yeah, trust me, I find it incredibly frustrating," Jack said as he shook his head, then ran his hand over his face. "Look, I just want to spend some more time with her. I enjoy her company," he looked down, "can we not make a big deal out of this? I don't want to scare her off."

All three of the Time Lords at the table were taken aback by Jack's different demeanor towards this woman, and silently agreed to back off. "Very well, Jack. We're headed to the Citadel today to meet with Balen. Why don't you come along and invite Jana to as well?  She'll already have all the proper clearances to be in the Citadel, so no problems there."

*-*-*

Scarlett had finished retelling as much as the story as she felt was needed to Jana. She would no doubt have to retell it again later in the day to Balen, and she was starting to grow weary of the telling. They spoke a bit longer about it before Jana seemed to grow distracted as they headed back in the direction of the houses on the beach.

"What is it, Jana?"

"I'm sorry my Que--I mean, Scarlett. It's just..."

Scarlett frowned, worried about her friend. "Is something the matter, Jana?"

"No, no. Nothing is wrong. I just wondered if I could ask...well, it's really not my place but..."

"Just say it, Jana. We're friends."

"What can you tell me about Jack?"

Scarlett tried not to show her mild amusement and surprise. "What do you want to know? Tell me what you already know?"

"I obviously met him formally when he first came with you and the Doctor to Teni just after the Dalek attacks. I spent my time off working in the city, helping with the restoration..."

Scarlett was taken aback in surprise. "Jana, I had no idea..."

"It was an exhausting several months, but I couldn't think of not helping my people in every way possible... anyway, Jack and I ended up on teams together quite often since we were frequently both coming from the Citadel. We talked...a lot. And then you all were gone, and then suddenly I ran into him last night at a bar and... it wasn't till then when I made a remark about how he hadn't seemed to age that he told me a bit more about his...situation."

"Ah, the never aging, never dying Jack Harkness. Yes, it's quite the story isn't it? And it's true. I've seen some of the Doctor's memories in which Jack dies and comes back to life. I'm thankful I haven't had to experience that myself yet. You and I Jana, we have long lives as Teni..."

"And you longer...now."

Scarlett nodded. "But imagine, Jack will live even beyond that. It has to be both thrilling and terrifying at the same time."

"I can't imagine," Jana said quietly as she shook her head in contemplation of the idea. Then she cleared her throat and continued. "Before...Jack mentioned something about a man named Ianto? But, when I asked about him last night, he only said he was gone... what happened?"

Scarlett looked down, saddened by the story. She sighed and recounted to Jana the story of the 457 and the death and destruction Jack had experienced, and the desperation they had felt at being unable to get back to him to help.

"How terrible," Jana said quietly.

"Very, but he's come out alright. He's been a loyal friend to the Doctor--even when the Doctor didn't deserve it--and to all of us now. He was instrumental in helping me be found. He's determined, fierce, but also one of the most passionately loving people you'd ever meet. He's a huge flirt, but it seems to have tamed down quite a bit since the incident with the 457."

Jana nodded slowly, taking it all in.

 

<<<<>>>> 


End file.
